Gene Regulatory Mechanisms in Development and Evolution: Insights from Echinoderms

Dr. Charles A. Ettensohn, Professor of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, USA), is one of the world’s leading researchers using sea urchins and other echinoderms as experimental models to study mechanisms of embryogenesis. Over the past 30 years his laboratory has made major contributions to developmental biology. His current work focuses on the architecture, function, and evolution of developmental gene regulatory networks, with the overarching goal of elucidating the genetic control of anatomy. Dr. Ettensohn has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed articles, co-organized multiple international conferences on echinoderm development, and currently serves on the editorial boards of BMC Genomics, Genesis, and Faculty of 1000 (Biology).

1. Perspectives on divergence of early developmental regulatory pathways: Insight from the evolution of echinoderm double negative gate Nina Levin, Shumpei Yamakawa, Yoshiaki Morino, and Hiroshi Wada 2. Development of a larval nervous system in the sea urchin David R. McClay 3. Post-transcriptional regulation of factors important for the germ line Nathalie Oulhen, Shumpei Morita, and Gary M. Wessel 4. Extreme phenotypic divergence and the evolution of development Gregory A. Wray 5. Lessons from a transcription factor: Alx1 provides insights into gene regulatory networks, cellular reprogramming, and cell type evolution Charles A. Ettensohn, Jennifer Guerrero-Santoro, and Jian Ming Khor 6. Pigment cells: Paragons of cellular development Robert D. Burke 7. Dorsal-ventral axis formation in sea urchin embryos Yi-Hsien Su 8. Micromere formation and its evolutionary implications in the sea urchin Natsuko Emura and Mamiko Yajima