Shedding light into early embryogenesis of turtles (Dr Antonia Weberling)
PROJECT TITLE
Shedding light into early embryogenesis of turtles
SUPERVISORS
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
Turtles (testudines) have branched off other reptiles roughly 220MYA. Their eggs are laid in the early stages of gastrulation, when the three germ layers form that will give rise to every tissue of the body and can only be readily studied from that timepoint onwards – though also difficult to access due to the protected and/or endangered status of most turtle species. The pre-oviposition development however has never been studied in detail. Our recent studies focussing on brown anole and veiled chameleon embryogenesis suggest large divergence during pre-gastrulation development both between avian and non-avian reptiles as well as within non-avian reptiles.
Through a collaboration with the vet school of North Carolina State University, we have access to pre-oviposition and thereby pre-gastrulation turtle embryos from a diverse set of turtle species. These are collected from roadkill and enable us a unique insight into early turtle development. The student will investigate turtle morphogenesis and build up a staging system for future mechanistic studies and comparative analyses across clades. In the second part of the project, the student will focus on the gene regulatory networks driving key events of pre-gastrulation development.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
The student will join a highly collaborative environment and be introduced to both traditional developmental biology, evolutional developmental biology and innovative species conservation approaches during their project. The training will involve sectioning, histology stainings, confocal and light-sheet microscopy as well as in situ hybridisation techniques. The student will gain thorough image analysis skills.
Funding Information
The position is not currently funded and therefore the candidate will need to secure funding.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for this research degree, please click here.