Mailing Address:
University of California, Berkeley
Dept. of Integrative Biology
3060 VLSB #3140
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140
Lab phone: 510/643-4201
Fax: 510/643-5022
Email: grande[at]berkeley.edu
University of California, Berkeley
Dept. of Integrative Biology
3060 VLSB #3140
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140
Lab phone: 510/643-4201
Fax: 510/643-5022
Email: grande[at]berkeley.edu
Research Summary
Comparative genomic studies provide critical information about the origin and evolution of genes (and their regulatory mechanisms) that control important biological processes such as cellular signaling during embryonic development.
Although these data were first generated in classic model systems such as fly, mouse, zebrafish, and nematodes, amongst others, the focus of attention has started to shift towards relatively unexplored taxa of evolutionary interest. Lophotrochozoa, one of the three main groups of Bilateria, represents one such group for which genomic data are just starting to be available. One of the largest lophotrochozoan phyla, and indeed one of the largest of all animal phyla, are the Mollusca (snails, slugs, squids…). Among mollusks, snails offer an excellent model system to perform evolutionary developmental biology studies due to their morphological diversity, abundance, and extensive fossil record. .
My research focuses on the study of several developmental gene networks in snails to understand Bilateria body plan evolution. In particular I am studying gene networks involved in estabin order to determine whether the same networks regulate left-right asymmetry in vertebrates and invertebrates and to provide new data about the evolutionary origin of the mechanisms controlling left-right determination.
I am also interested in the molecular basis regulating one of the most critical morphological asymmetries of snails: the chirality, which refers to the body handedness and the direction of shell coiling. Dextral (right handed) and sinistral (left handed) forms can be found at many taxonomic levels although the majority of the living species of snails are dextral. I have found a correlation between the expression of certain genes during embryonic development and body chirality. For example, genes that are expressed on the right side in dextral species are expressed on the left side in sinistral species. I want to determine how these genes are regulated to understand the actual symmetry breaking event in snails, and also to examine the steps downstream of these genes to provide new insights into the control of complex animal morphologies such as shell coiling.
Publications
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Zardoya, R. 2008. Evolution of gastropod mitochondrial genome arrangements. BMC Evol. Biol., in press. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-61.
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Cervera, J.L.; Zardoya, R. 2004. Molecular phylogeny of Euthyneura (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Mol. Biol. Evol., 21: 303-313. [PDF]
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Cervera, J.L.; Zardoya, R. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships among Opisthobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) based on mitochondrial cox1 and rrnL genes. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 33: 378-388.[PDF]
Zardoya, R.; Castillo, R.; Grande, C.; Favre-Krey, L.; Caetano, S.; Marcato, S.; Krey, G.; Patarnello, T. 2004. Differential population structuring of two closely related fish species, the mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), in the Mediterranean Sea. Mol. Ecol., 13: 1785-1798. [PDF]
Calado, G.; Malaquias, M.; Gavaia, C.; Cervera, J.L.; Megina, C.; Dayrat, B.; Camacho, Y.; Pola, M.; Grande, C. 2003. New data on Opisthobranchs (Mollusca; Gastropoda) from the Southwestern coast of Portugal. Bol. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 19 (1-4): 199-204.[PDF]
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Cervera, J.L.; Zardoya, R. 2002. The complete mitochondrial genome of the Nudibranch Roboastra europaea (Mollusca: Gastropoda) supports the monophyly of Opisthobranchs. Mol. Biol. Evol., 19: 1672-1685.[PDF]
Grande, C.; Araujo, R.; Ramos M.A. 2001. The gonads of Margaritifera auricularia (Spengler, 1793) and M. margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) (Bivalvia: Unionoidea). J. Moll. Stud., 67: 27-35.[PDF]
Education
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain. Ph. D.
Advisors: Dr. R. Zardoya and Dr. J. Templado. Thesis: “Molecular Systematics of Euthyneura (Mollusca: Gastropoda)”.May, 2004.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. B. Sc.
Biology (Zoology).
June 1998.
Awards
Postdoctoral fellowship of Center for Integrative Genomics, UC Berkeley, USA. 2007-2009. Project: “Comparative genomics in Gastropoda: developmental networks in body plan evolution”
Postdoctoral fellowship of Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. Spain. 2005- 2007. Project: “Evolutionay developmental biology in Gastropoda”.
Canary Islands Government fellowship. 2004. Project: “Genetic diversity of land snail gastropods of the Canary Islands”.
Predoctoral fellowship of Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. Spain. 2001- 2003. Project: “Molecular systematics of Opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda)”.
European Union Fellowship. 2000. Project: “Fisheries and population structure of Scomber spp. in the Mediterranean and South Iberian Atlantic waters”.
Comparative genomic studies provide critical information about the origin and evolution of genes (and their regulatory mechanisms) that control important biological processes such as cellular signaling during embryonic development.
Although these data were first generated in classic model systems such as fly, mouse, zebrafish, and nematodes, amongst others, the focus of attention has started to shift towards relatively unexplored taxa of evolutionary interest. Lophotrochozoa, one of the three main groups of Bilateria, represents one such group for which genomic data are just starting to be available. One of the largest lophotrochozoan phyla, and indeed one of the largest of all animal phyla, are the Mollusca (snails, slugs, squids…). Among mollusks, snails offer an excellent model system to perform evolutionary developmental biology studies due to their morphological diversity, abundance, and extensive fossil record. .
My research focuses on the study of several developmental gene networks in snails to understand Bilateria body plan evolution. In particular I am studying gene networks involved in estabin order to determine whether the same networks regulate left-right asymmetry in vertebrates and invertebrates and to provide new data about the evolutionary origin of the mechanisms controlling left-right determination.
I am also interested in the molecular basis regulating one of the most critical morphological asymmetries of snails: the chirality, which refers to the body handedness and the direction of shell coiling. Dextral (right handed) and sinistral (left handed) forms can be found at many taxonomic levels although the majority of the living species of snails are dextral. I have found a correlation between the expression of certain genes during embryonic development and body chirality. For example, genes that are expressed on the right side in dextral species are expressed on the left side in sinistral species. I want to determine how these genes are regulated to understand the actual symmetry breaking event in snails, and also to examine the steps downstream of these genes to provide new insights into the control of complex animal morphologies such as shell coiling.
Publications
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Zardoya, R. 2008. Evolution of gastropod mitochondrial genome arrangements. BMC Evol. Biol., in press. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-61.
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Cervera, J.L.; Zardoya, R. 2004. Molecular phylogeny of Euthyneura (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Mol. Biol. Evol., 21: 303-313. [PDF]
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Cervera, J.L.; Zardoya, R. 2004. Phylogenetic relationships among Opisthobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) based on mitochondrial cox1 and rrnL genes. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 33: 378-388.[PDF]
Zardoya, R.; Castillo, R.; Grande, C.; Favre-Krey, L.; Caetano, S.; Marcato, S.; Krey, G.; Patarnello, T. 2004. Differential population structuring of two closely related fish species, the mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and the chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), in the Mediterranean Sea. Mol. Ecol., 13: 1785-1798. [PDF]
Calado, G.; Malaquias, M.; Gavaia, C.; Cervera, J.L.; Megina, C.; Dayrat, B.; Camacho, Y.; Pola, M.; Grande, C. 2003. New data on Opisthobranchs (Mollusca; Gastropoda) from the Southwestern coast of Portugal. Bol. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 19 (1-4): 199-204.[PDF]
Grande, C.; Templado, J.; Cervera, J.L.; Zardoya, R. 2002. The complete mitochondrial genome of the Nudibranch Roboastra europaea (Mollusca: Gastropoda) supports the monophyly of Opisthobranchs. Mol. Biol. Evol., 19: 1672-1685.[PDF]
Grande, C.; Araujo, R.; Ramos M.A. 2001. The gonads of Margaritifera auricularia (Spengler, 1793) and M. margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) (Bivalvia: Unionoidea). J. Moll. Stud., 67: 27-35.[PDF]
Education
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain. Ph. D.
Advisors: Dr. R. Zardoya and Dr. J. Templado. Thesis: “Molecular Systematics of Euthyneura (Mollusca: Gastropoda)”.May, 2004.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. B. Sc.
Biology (Zoology).
June 1998.
Awards
Postdoctoral fellowship of Center for Integrative Genomics, UC Berkeley, USA. 2007-2009. Project: “Comparative genomics in Gastropoda: developmental networks in body plan evolution”
Postdoctoral fellowship of Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. Spain. 2005- 2007. Project: “Evolutionay developmental biology in Gastropoda”.
Canary Islands Government fellowship. 2004. Project: “Genetic diversity of land snail gastropods of the Canary Islands”.
Predoctoral fellowship of Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. Spain. 2001- 2003. Project: “Molecular systematics of Opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda)”.
European Union Fellowship. 2000. Project: “Fisheries and population structure of Scomber spp. in the Mediterranean and South Iberian Atlantic waters”.
NIPAM H. PATEL
PHOTOS ABOVE: Double in situ hybridization of early trochophore larvae of the snails Lottia gigantea (left) and Biomphalaria glabrata (right).
PHOTO TO LEFT: Chirality in snails. a, Two gastropod species with different chirality: a sinistral specimen of Busycon pulleyi (Melongenidae) from Texas, USA (left) and a dextral specimen of Fusinus salisbury (Fasciolariidae) from Palawan, Philippines (right). b, Sinistral (left) and dextral (right) shells of Amphidromus perversus from Madura Island, Indonesia.
PHOTO TO LEFT: Chirality in snails. a, Two gastropod species with different chirality: a sinistral specimen of Busycon pulleyi (Melongenidae) from Texas, USA (left) and a dextral specimen of Fusinus salisbury (Fasciolariidae) from Palawan, Philippines (right). b, Sinistral (left) and dextral (right) shells of Amphidromus perversus from Madura Island, Indonesia.