03-P101 Testing the chromatoblast hypothesis in zebrafish neural crest cells by analyzing the fate of cells expressing ltk gene

Embryonic wound healing is both a mechanical process, driven by intraand intercellular forces, and a genetic process, regulated by an array of signalling molecules. Our goal is to understand the fundamental biology and dynamics of embryonic wound healing – to connect the phenomenology of wound-margin shortening to the underlying cytoskeletal mechanics and genetic regulatory networks. As a model system, we are using the epidermal tissue of fruit fly embryos (Drosophila melanogaster) at stage 15, just after formation of the epidermis. This system is well-suited to integrated genetic and mechanical studies because we can generate precise wounds with laser-microsurgery, and follow the cellular details of wound closure in living, GFP-labeled embryos, both in wild type and in mutants, via confocal microscopy. We are collaborating with a group of computational biologists to generate a mathematical model of wound healing that will help us to understand this process.