Thus, we showed a relay system that doesn’t just result in a wave of the same shape change, but a trigger mechanism for one mode of morphogenetic change jump-starting another.

We identified a mechanism that regulates both Drosophila mesoderm internalization and body axis extension. We showed that EGFR signaling, whose earliest known embryonic role was patterning the central nervous system, establishes a DV pattern of graded levels of cell adhesion.

Pleased to share the publication of our paper showing the role of EGFR in coordinating morphogenetic movements in Developmental Cell. Congratulations @MITBiology postdoc, @natclarke8 for all your hard work! Article: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3946…

Not to be outdone, T48 mutants also had distinct effects. While affecting myosin accumulation in tissue folding, T48 mutants also affected earlier stages of development, exhibiting defects in cellularization and egg shape. Consistent with this, T48 is maternally deposited.

Fog/Cta and T48 pathways are thought to function in parallel in tissue folding. Using this porosity measurement that he found and adapted, Uzuki found that while both pathways similarly reduce myosin, Fog/Cta pathway affected network continuity more that T48 mutants.

Excited to have submitted manuscript by @MITBiology @urop_mit Uzuki Horo. @natclarke8 mentored Uzuki and pushed the project to completion. We discovered how Fog and T48 pathways distinctly regulate myosin activation. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…

Very excited to post our most recent work by superstar postdoc @natclarke8 on EGFR signaling coordinating tissue folding and axis extension in Drosophila. If you love patterning, adhesion, and/or cytoskeleton, this has something for you! Check it out. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…

Huge thanks to @JocMcDonald for the invitation to Kansas State. I had a fantastic time talking science and learning from everyone. I had the best steak that I've had in a while. Manhattan, KS is a gem of a college town. And you are right, the sunrises are spectacular!

@MartinLabMIT and @MITBiology trainees are representing at @ASCBiology annual meeting. Lab members are presenting their work on patterning in cells and Drosophila embryos from simple (crane and chickadee) to highly complex (bird of paradise). Analogy because I am a birder. #ASCB

Jonathan Jackson and @mdenklobnig completing story on regulated transitions in actomyosin dynamics - biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…. @MITBiology student @mdenklobnig made key observations in embryo. Jonathan linked to the Drosophila germline and characterized the embryo 🌊🌊🌊.