Person
Linker, Claudia
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Biography and Research Interest
Group leader, Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, Lecturer, Physiology Department, King’s College London, UK.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK.
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, UK.
Ph.D. in the Laboratoire de Génétique et Physiologie du Développement de Marseille, IBDM, Université de la Méditerranée Aix-Marseille II. Marseille, France.
BSc at the Department of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Santiago, Chile.
The primary aim of our research group is to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie the migration and differentiation of Neural Crest cells. Neural Crest cells are a transient migratory population that arise early during embryonic development, differentiates into a wide range of cell types (including neurons, glial cells, cartilage, melanocytes, etc.) and migrate extensively colonising virtually all the tissues of the embryo. Neural Crest cells share numerous characteristics with cancer cell, but are readily accessible to morphological and molecular analysis
These features make Neural Crest cells a particularly attractive model system to study the molecular signals regulating cell migration and fate determination. The combination of genetics tools, offered by zebrafish transgenic lines, with live cell imaging permit the study these questions in vivo. Recently we have developed transgenic lines that allow us to follow in vivo the entire neural crest population. With this tools we are developing automated computational algorithms that permit the quantitative analysis of neural crest migration.
To study the molecular cascade involved in Neural Crest migration and differentiation we have developed the Mosaic Analysis system in Zebrafish (MAZe). This system allow us to follow in live embryos single cells, fluorescently marked and genetically altered, permitting the study of the molecular cascade controlling the migration, and at the same time the in vivo cellular analysis of this process. Moreover we are able for the first time to approach genetically the clonal study of Neural Crest differentiation.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the London Research Institute, Cancer Research UK.
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, UK.
Ph.D. in the Laboratoire de Génétique et Physiologie du Développement de Marseille, IBDM, Université de la Méditerranée Aix-Marseille II. Marseille, France.
BSc at the Department of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Santiago, Chile.
The primary aim of our research group is to elucidate the mechanisms that underlie the migration and differentiation of Neural Crest cells. Neural Crest cells are a transient migratory population that arise early during embryonic development, differentiates into a wide range of cell types (including neurons, glial cells, cartilage, melanocytes, etc.) and migrate extensively colonising virtually all the tissues of the embryo. Neural Crest cells share numerous characteristics with cancer cell, but are readily accessible to morphological and molecular analysis
These features make Neural Crest cells a particularly attractive model system to study the molecular signals regulating cell migration and fate determination. The combination of genetics tools, offered by zebrafish transgenic lines, with live cell imaging permit the study these questions in vivo. Recently we have developed transgenic lines that allow us to follow in vivo the entire neural crest population. With this tools we are developing automated computational algorithms that permit the quantitative analysis of neural crest migration.
To study the molecular cascade involved in Neural Crest migration and differentiation we have developed the Mosaic Analysis system in Zebrafish (MAZe). This system allow us to follow in live embryos single cells, fluorescently marked and genetically altered, permitting the study of the molecular cascade controlling the migration, and at the same time the in vivo cellular analysis of this process. Moreover we are able for the first time to approach genetically the clonal study of Neural Crest differentiation.
Non-Zebrafish Publications
Lopes SS, Distel M, Linker C, Fior R, Monteiro R, Bianco IH, Portugues R, Strähle U, Saúde L. (2016) Report of the 4th European Zebrafish Principal Investigator Meeting. Zebrafish. 2016 Sep 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Singh, AP, Dinwiddie, A, Mahalwar, P, Schach, U, Linker, C, Irion, U, Nüsslein-Volhard, C. (2016) Multipotent and plastic progenitors for adult pigment cells in zebrafish. Dev Cell. Aug 8;38(3):316-30.
Richardson, J, Gauert, A, Briones Montecinos, L, Fanlo Escudero, L, Alhashem, Z, Assar, R, Marti, E, Kabla, A, Härtel S, and Linker C. (2016) Leader cells define directionality of trunk, but not cranial, neural crest cell migration. Cell Rep. 2016 May 31;15(9):2076-88.
Dyer C, Linker C, Graham A and Knight R. (2014) Specification of sensory neurons occurs through diverse developmental programs functioning in the brain and spinal cord. Dev Dyn Nov;243(11):1429-39.
Moore R, Theveneau E, Pozzi S, Alexandre P, Richardson J, Merks A, Parsons M, Kashef J, Linker C, Mayor R.(2013) Par3 controls neural crest migration by promoting microtubule catastrophe during contact inhibition of locomotion. Development. 140(23):4763-75.
Cavodeassi F, Del Bene F, Fürthauer M, Grabher C, Herzog W, Lehtonen S, Linker C, Mercader N, Mikut R, Norton W, Strähle U, Tiso N, Foulkes NS. (2013) Report of the Second European Zebrafish Principal Investigator Meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, March 21-24, 2012. Zebrafish. 10(1):119-23.
Collins, R., Linker, C. and Lewis, J. (2010) MAZe: a new tool for mosaic analysis of gene function in zebrafish. Nature Methods. 2010 Mar;7(3):219-23.
Steventon B., Araya A., Linker C. and Mayor R. (2009) Differential requirements of BMP and Wnt signaling during gastrulation and neurulation define two steps in neural crest induction. Development. 136(5):771-9.
Linker C.*, de Almeida I., Papanayotou C., Sabado, V., Streit, A., Mayor R., Stern C*. (2009) Neural induction by BMP inhibition requires cellular continuity with the neural plate border. Developmental Biology. 327(2):478-86. *Corresponding authors.
de Almeida I., Batut J., Hill C., Stern C. D,* and Linker C.* (2008) Unexpected activities of Smad7 in Xenopus mesodermal and neural induction. Mechanisms of Development. 125(5-6):421-31. *Corresponding authors
Linker C. and Stern C. (2007) Neural induction – the chick view. The New Encyclopaedia of Neuroscience. Elsevier.
Linker C.* ‡, Lesbros C.*, Gros J., Burrus L.W., Rawls A. and Marcelle C. ‡. (2005) b-Catenin-dependent Wnt signaling controls the epithelial organization of somites through the activation of paraxis. Development. 132(17):3895-905. *Co-first author. ‡Corresponding authors.
Linker C. and Stern C. (2004) Neural induction requires BMP inhibition only as a late step, and involves signals other than FGF and Wnt antagonists. Development. 131(22):5671-5681.
Linker C. *‡, Lesbros C. *, Stark M. and Marcelle C‡. (2003) Intrinsic signals regulate the initial steps of myogenesis in vertebrates. Development. 130(20):4797-807. *Co-first author. ‡: Corresponding authors.
Church V., Nohno T., Linker C., Marcelle C. and Francis-West P. (2002) Wnt regulation of chondrocyte differentiation. J Cell Sci. 115(Pt 24):4809-18.
Marcelle C., Lesbros C. and Linker C. (2002). Somite patterning: a few more pieces of the puzzle. In Vertebrate Myogenesis. Ed. Springer Verlag
Linker C., Bronner-Fraser M. and Mayor R. (2000) Relationship between gene expression domains of Xsnail, Xslug, and Xtwist and cell movement in the prospective neural crest of Xenopus. Developmental Biology. 224(2): 215–225
Marchant L., Linker C., Ruiz P., Guerrero N. and Mayor R. (1998) The inductive properties of mesoderm suggest that the neural crest cells are specified by a BMP gradient. Developmental Biology. 198(2):319-29.
Marchant L., Linker C. and Mayor R. (1998) Inhibition of mesoderm formation by follistatin. Development, Genes and Evolution. 1998 208(3):157-60.
Inestrosa N.C., Alvares A., Perez C., Moreno R.D., Vicente M., Linker C., Soto C. and Garrido J. (1996) Acetylcholinesterase accelerates assembly of amyloid-b-peptides in to Alzheimer amyloid fibrils: possible role of the peripheral binding site of the enzyme. Neuron. 16: 881-891.