University of California, Berkeley
Dept. of Integrative Biology
3060 VLSB #3140
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140
Lab phone: 510/643-6227
Fax: 510/643-5022
Email: marques-souza@berkeley.edu
My overall interest is in the different molecular mechanisms underlying the build up of living organisms. More specifically, I am interested in studying gene regulatory networks (GRNs) in arthropods to understand the different ways regulatory proteins control patterns of gene expression and how these patterns control cell behavior.
One of the best examples of GNRs controlling development is the patterning of the dorsoventral and anteroposterior axes in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
During my PhD, I studied the segmentation process in the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum by testing the GRN controlling the segmentation process in the fruit fly. This analysis revealed surprising conservation as well as intriguing variations of the genetic “toolkit” controlling development in insects.
Although the work on insect has been so far the greatest source of knowledge about arthropod segmentation, the work on non-insect arthropods development surely represents a crucial approach to widen our understanding of the development of arthropod body plan.
In the Patel lab, I intend to study early patterning in crustaceans by carrying out two main projects.
1. Amphipod development:
Study the function (via gene expression and gene silencing) of the known developmental genes, mainly transcription factors and signaling molecules, controlling early patterning in the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis. I am highly interested in combining the gene silencing approach with techniques such as live imaging and laser cell ablation as a promising approach for understanding the link between gene function and cell behavior.
2. Decapod development:
Comparative embryology among decapods as an alternative developmental model among crustaceans and arthropods. In this project, I will study the early development of the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), the fresh water Red Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata sinensis) as well as the Marmorkrebs (marbled crayfish).
NIPAM H. PATEL