JRG VII: Alvaro Rada-Iglesias

During vertebrate embryonic development different cell-types and tissues are progressively formed, acquiring positional identities according to tightly regulated spatiotemporal patterning. Numerous transcription factors (TF) with repressive activity (i.e. transcriptional repressors) regulate this process by establishing, along with activators and morphogens, spatio-temporally restricted gene expression domains. However and compared to activators, much less is known regarding the role of transcriptional repressors in embryonic patterning, their gene targets, molecular regulatory mechanisms and the genomic context in which they act during development.

To study the developmental function of transcriptional repressors we are using a multidisciplinary approach that combines genomics, biochemistry and in vitro differentiation models (e.g. mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESC)) with in vivo studies using model organisms. Proposed studies will elucidate molecular mechanisms by which repressor proteins regulate cell-type specific gene expression, embryonic patterning and cellular heterogeneity. This work will expand our knowledge of gene regulation during embryogenesis and will have broad implications for understanding human development and disease.