# Gene Expression in Amphibian Development

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2024 · $481,500

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Our goal is to understand early vertebrate development at the molecular level. We study the problem in the frog
Xenopus, whose abundant eggs are large and readily manipulated by microinjection and microsurgery. The
embryos are large enough to produce material for biochemical and proteomic analysis, and are also ideal for
imaging whole embryo morphogenesis, and confocal imaging of explants.
During previous grant periods, we have identified potent signaling and signal transduction activities that
contribute to embryonic development, neural induction and anterior-posterior patterning of the neural plate. In
parallel we improved genome assemblies and annotation for X. tropicalis and X. laevis, enabling a systems level
approach. These, and new assemblies for other frogs, not only provide the resources necessary for hypothesis
driven research for the community, but also delivered new insights into genome structures, recombination and
evolution.
In the next grant period, we focus on the genes that control cell shape changes, and tissue level movements in
the embryo, focusing on gastrulation and neurulation. Based on the premise that Rho GTP Exchange Factors
(GEFs) are often deployed selectively to mediate specific cell behaviors, we will continue our analysis of
members of the Plekhg family, among which three of seven show specific morphogenetic defects after CRISPR
mediated knockdown, and extend the analysis to other GEFs or GTPase Activating Proteins (GAPs) that show
early morphogenetic defects. The results of these experiments will provide basic understanding of normal
vertebrate morphogenesis, and insights into the ways that different cellular behaviors are controlled.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10841682
- **Project number:** 5R35GM127069-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard M Harland
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $481,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-06 → 2028-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10841682

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10841682, Gene Expression in Amphibian Development (5R35GM127069-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10841682. Licensed CC0.

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