From a single fertilized egg, cells divide, transform, and migrate to create the complex shapes of individual animals. What molecular mechanisms regulate this dynamic cellular transformation?

 

To answer this question, we conduct research using a nematode

C. elegans, which has a small number of cells (approximately 1,000 cells) and whose genome information has been well-characterized.

 

Using advanced microscopy techniques and genome modification technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9, we are analyzing the phenomena underlying developmental process. We also focus on evolutionary developmental biology research by comparative analysis of C. elegans and its relatives.