Endoderm development and epithelial morphogenesis in zebrafish

Our lab is interested in how morphogenetic movements are coordinated with cell specification and differentiation programs. In particular we are interested in how these processes are regulated during development of the gastrointestinal epithelium, which is derived from the endoderm. In zebrafish, endodermal cells are specified just prior to gastrulation and soon after become highly motile and quickly disperse across the inner surface of the embryo. These scattered cells then undergo a switch in migratory behavior to converge into a coherent endodermal sheet, which ultimately gives rise to the epithelial lining of the gut tube. Our lab has developed techniques to image these cells in vivo at single- and sub-cellular resolution, which we are using to explore 1) how these cells initiate epithelial sheet formation and develop into a functional GI tract and 2) how defects in epithelial morphogenesis can contribute to gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease.