Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Genetics and Genomics
Periocular Mesenchyme Heterogeneity During Morphogenesis Of The Vertebrate Ocular Anterior Segment, Kristyn L. Van Der Meulen
Periocular Mesenchyme Heterogeneity During Morphogenesis Of The Vertebrate Ocular Anterior Segment, Kristyn L. Van Der Meulen
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
The vertebrate eye is a complex organ, responsible for the primary sense with which we interact with our environment: vision. Development of the eye is a tightly regulated process, controlled by a vast network of genes. This process begins with eye morphogenesis, when the eye structure is formed through a series of morphogenetic movements and culminates in the creation of the optic cup, lens, and presumptive optic stalk. Next, retinal differentiation creates the critical cell layers of the retina needed to process light waves that enter the eye, including rod and cone photoreceptors, interneurons, and support cells. Failure in either …
Leveraging Transcriptomic Approaches To Identify Differences In Genetic Programming Driving Two Distinct Wound Healing Mechanisms, Regeneration And Fibrosis, In Acomys And Mus, Shishir K. Biswas
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
Why can some animals and others cannot? This fundamental question has fueled scientists studying regeneration for hundreds of years since early observations in crayfish, salamanders and many other organisms. While most contemporary work in regeneration is done in a handful of species including salamanders, zebrafish and flatforms, these organisms lack a closely-related, non-regenerating sister species from which unique genetic differences can be identified. Additionally, while much has been learned from these organisms, they do not share fundamental biological traits with mammals (endothermy, metabolism and immune system) which limits the ability to translate this research for clinical medicine. To this end, …
Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Optic Fissure Fusion During Zebrafish Eye Development, Megan Weaver
Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Optic Fissure Fusion During Zebrafish Eye Development, Megan Weaver
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
Vertebrate retinal development requires timely and precise fusion of the optic fissure. Failure of this event leads to congenital vision impairment in the form of coloboma. Recent studies have suggested hyaloid vasculature to be involved in OF fusion. In order to examine this link, we analyzed optic fissure fusion and hyaloid vasculogenesis in the zebrafish pax2a noi mutant line. We first determined that pax2a-/- embryos fail to accumulate F-actin in the optic fissure prior to basement membrane (BM) degradation. Furthermore, using 3D and live imaging we observed reduced OF hyaloid vascularization in pax2a-/- embryos. When examining the connection …