Lab
Young Lab
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Statement of Research Interest
About Us
Our research aims to identify and understand the function of genes required for eye formation and study the cellular and molecular compensatory mechanisms that enable phenotypic robustness in eye development.
We use genetic tools/screens in zebrafish to identify the genes that participate in eye formation, embryology, cell biology, and molecular techniques to understand their function.
We are based at the Institute of Ophthalmology, a world-leading centre for eye research.
OUR RESEARCH
The eye is an essential organ for animal viability, and as such its appropriate development and function are fundamental for life. For this reason, biological systems have evolved developing mechanisms that enable tissues/organs to compensate for the effect of mutations in genes, preventing their impact on eye development.
Compensatory mechanisms that enable the systems’ robustness can mask the effect of mutations in many genes, showing no overt morphological phenotype and limiting our ability to understand their function. Therefore, relating a phenotype or pathology to a gene represents a major challenge in developmental genetics and suggests that many genes involved in embryo development or disease remain to be identified.
For example, due to compensatory mechanisms, only ~50% of all the genes that have been linked to anophthalmia (A, no eyes) and microphthalmia (M, small underdeveloped eyes) show a clear eye phenotype when knocked down in animal models. This limits the use of animal models to validate new A/M candidate genes identified in patients, or to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind these congenital malformations.
Our research aims to identify and understand the function of genes required for eye formation and study the cellular and molecular compensatory mechanisms that enable phenotypic robustness in eye development.
We use genetic tools/screens in zebrafish to identify the genes that participate in eye formation, embryology, cell biology, and molecular techniques to understand their function.
We are based at the Institute of Ophthalmology, a world-leading centre for eye research.
OUR RESEARCH
The eye is an essential organ for animal viability, and as such its appropriate development and function are fundamental for life. For this reason, biological systems have evolved developing mechanisms that enable tissues/organs to compensate for the effect of mutations in genes, preventing their impact on eye development.
Compensatory mechanisms that enable the systems’ robustness can mask the effect of mutations in many genes, showing no overt morphological phenotype and limiting our ability to understand their function. Therefore, relating a phenotype or pathology to a gene represents a major challenge in developmental genetics and suggests that many genes involved in embryo development or disease remain to be identified.
For example, due to compensatory mechanisms, only ~50% of all the genes that have been linked to anophthalmia (A, no eyes) and microphthalmia (M, small underdeveloped eyes) show a clear eye phenotype when knocked down in animal models. This limits the use of animal models to validate new A/M candidate genes identified in patients, or to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind these congenital malformations.
Lab Members
| Bañón González, Aitor Post-Doc | Mikula Mrstakova, Simona Post-Doc | Maftei, Mara Ioana Graduate Student |