Project description
The facial skeleton is composed of bone and cartilage that originate from neural crest cells in the first two pharyngeal arches . The project will study molecular pathways and gene regulatory networks that control craniofacial development and determine the enormous variety of skeletal and cartilage shapes in the vertebrate head. The experiments are carried out in transgenic mouse models based on tissue-specific gene inactivation in the neural crest. All required mouse strains are already available in our lab and preliminary tests have been initiated. The project follows on from the ongoing analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing of the neural crest derived tissues and spatial transcriptomics in the mouse embryonic head.
Candidate profile
M.Sc. (Mgr.) degree or equivalent in molecular/cellular biology or biochemistry; strong interest in developmental and molecular biology
Suggested reading
- O. Machon, J. Masek, O. Machonova, S. Krauss, Z. Kozmik, BMC. Dev. Biol. 15:40 (2015).
- J. Fabik, K. Kovacova, Z. Kozmik, O. Machon, Biol. Open. 9:6 (2020).
- J. Fabik, V. Psutkova, O. Machon, Int J Mol Sci. 14;22(14):7529 (2021).
- J. Fabik, V. Psutkova, O. Machon, Front Cell Dev Biol. 10:951063 (2022).