Categoría: PhD Students

I am very interested in the role of Sp6 and Sp8, two members of the Specificity family of transcription factors that are necessary for limb development. The gradual reduction of Sp6;Sp8 gene dosage results in progressively more severe limb morphologies that go from a mild syndactyly, to Split Hand Foot Malformation, truncation and finally amelia. These malformations associate not only proximo-distal but also dorso-ventral defects.
To understand the Sp dependent regulatory network in the limb ectoderm I have focused on Sp8 and characterized its direct transcriptional activity by combining genome-wide ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analyses. The identified set of Sp8 direct target genes includes all major regulators of proximo-distal and dorso-ventral limb patterning, highlighting the complex mechanisms by which Sps connect both axis in limb patterning. I aim to validate Sp8 mode of action as well as to identify Sp6 direct target genes.

Phone: [+34] 942 206799 ext. 127
Email: rocio.perezg@unican.es

Work pictures

A central mechanism regulating the morphogenesis of many organs is the establishment of reciprocal interactions between a single-layered epithelium and the underlying mesenchymal cells. During limb development a specialized thickened epithelium arises in the distal edge of the bud, this is the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). Communication between the AER and the distal mesoderm is considered the most remarkable epithelial-mesenchymal interaction in the formation of the limb. The crucial function of the AER, as a signaling center, has not only been revealed by extirpation experiments but also by genetic ablation of its molecular mediators, such as Fgf8, revealing its role in proximo-distal patterning in the limb. Nevertheless, the genetic interactions between the AER and the underlying mesenchyme throughout the bud to limb transition are still poorly understood. I am currently studying the temporal transcriptome of the AER and the subAER mesoderm in order to identify temporal responses and changes in the cellular networks in both compartments and therefore the interactions between them.

Phone: [+34] 942 206799 ext. 127
Email: marc.fernandez@unican.es