David McClay
Professor

919-613-8188, 919-613-8190

4102 French Science Center,

Research Interests: Developmental Biology

We ask how the embryo works. Prior to morphogenesis the embryo specifies each cell through transcriptional regulation and signaling. Our research builds gene regulatory networks to understand how that early specification works. We then ask how this specification programs cells for their morphogenetic movements at gastrulation, and how the cells deploy patterning information. Current projects examine 1) novel signal transduction mechanisms that establish and maintain embryonic boundaries mold the embryo at gastrulation; 2) specification of primary mesenchyme cells in such a way that they are prepared to execute an epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and then study mechanistically the regulation of that transition; 3) the specification of endoderm necessary for invagination of the archenteron; 4) formation of the oral/aboral ectoderm and the means by which patterning information is distributed three dimensionally around the embryo. That information is necessary for patterning and inducing skeletogenesis. Other projects examine neural tube folding with the goal of identifying genes associated with neural tube defects. Finally, a large current effort in systems biology is being expended with the goal of enlarging our knowledge of early networks and how they interact.

Representative Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

1. Range, R., T. Glenn, and D.R. McClay, Lv-Numb promotes Notch-mediated specification of secondary mesenchyme cells in the sea urchin embryo, Development (Submitted, December, 2007) .
2. CA Byrum, KD Walton, AJ Robertson, S Carbonneau, RT Thomason, JA Coffman, DR McClay, Protein tyrosine and serine-threonine phosphatases in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus: identification and potential functions., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 194-218  [abs].
3. F Lapraz, E Röttinger, V Duboc, R Range, L Duloquin, K Walton, SY Wu, C Bradham, MA Loza, T Hibino, K Wilson, A Poustka, D McClay, L Angerer, C Gache, T Lepage, RTK and TGF-beta signaling pathways genes in the sea urchin genome., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 132-52  [abs].
4. JC Croce, SY Wu, C Byrum, R Xu, L Duloquin, AH Wikramanayake, C Gache, DR McClay, A genome-wide survey of the evolutionarily conserved Wnt pathways in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 121-31  [abs].
5. KD Walton, JC Croce, TD Glenn, SY Wu, DR McClay, Genomics and expression profiles of the Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways in sea urchin development., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 153-64  [abs].
6. CA Bradham, KR Foltz, WS Beane, MI Arnone, F Rizzo, JA Coffman, A Mushegian, M Goel, J Morales, AM Geneviere, F Lapraz, AJ Robertson, H Kelkar, M Loza-Coll, IK Townley, M Raisch, MM Roux, T Lepage, C Gache, DR McClay, G Manning, The sea urchin kinome: a first look., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 180-93  [abs].
7. WS Beane, E Voronina, GM Wessel, DR McClay, Lineage-specific expansions provide genomic complexity among sea urchin GTPases., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 165-79  [abs].
8. AJ Robertson, J Croce, S Carbonneau, E Voronina, E Miranda, DR McClay, JA Coffman, The genomic underpinnings of apoptosis in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 300 no. 1 (December, 2006), pp. 321-34  [abs].
9. Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium, E Sodergren, GM Weinstock, EH Davidson, RA Cameron, RA Gibbs, RC Angerer, LM Angerer, MI Arnone, DR Burgess, RD Burke, JA Coffman, M Dean, MR Elphick, CA Ettensohn, KR Foltz, A Hamdoun, RO Hynes, WH Klein, W Marzluff, DR McClay, RL Morris, A Mushegian, JP Rast, LC Smith, MC Thorndyke, VD Vacquier, GM Wessel, G Wray, L Zhang, CG Elsik, O Ermolaeva, W Hlavina, G Hofmann, P Kitts, MJ Landrum, AJ Mackey, D Maglott, G Panopoulou, AJ Poustka, K Pruitt, V Sapojnikov, X Song, A Souvorov, V Solovyev, Z Wei, CA Whittaker, K Worley, KJ Durbin, Y Shen, O Fedrigo, D Garfield, R Haygood, A Primus, R Satija, T Severson, ML Gonzalez-Garay, AR Jackson, A Milosavljevic, M Tong, CE Killian, BT Livingston, FH Wilt, N Adams, R Bellé, S Carbonneau, R Cheung, P Cormier, B Cosson, J Croce, A Fernandez-Guerra, AM Genevière, M Goel, H Kelkar, J Morales, O Mulner-Lorillon, AJ Robertson, JV Goldstone, B Cole, D Epel, B Gold, ME Hahn, M Howard-Ashby, M Scally, JJ Stegeman, EL Allgood, J Cool, KM Judkins, SS McCafferty, AM Musante, RA Obar, AP Rawson, BJ Rossetti, IR Gibbons, MP Hoffman, A Leone, S Istrail, SC Materna, MP Samanta, V Stolc, W Tongprasit, Q Tu, KF Bergeron, BP Brandhorst, J Whittle, K Berney, DJ Bottjer, C Calestani, K Peterson, E Chow, QA Yuan, E Elhaik, D Graur, JT Reese, I Bosdet, S Heesun, MA Marra, J Schein, MK Anderson, V Brockton, KM Buckley, AH Cohen, SD Fugmann, T Hibino, M Loza-Coll, AJ Majeske, C Messier, SV Nair, Z Pancer, DP Terwilliger, C Agca, E Arboleda, N Chen, AM Churcher, F Hallböök, GW Humphrey, MM Idris, T Kiyama, S Liang, D Mellott, X Mu, G Murray, RP Olinski, F Raible, M Rowe, JS Taylor, K Tessmar-Raible, D Wang, KH Wilson, S Yaguchi, T Gaasterland, BE Galindo, HJ Gunaratne, C Juliano, M Kinukawa, GW Moy, AT Neill, M Nomura, M Raisch, A Reade, MM Roux, JL Song, YH Su, IK Townley, E Voronina, JL Wong, G Amore, M Branno, ER Brown, V Cavalieri, V Duboc, L Duloquin, C Flytzanis, C Gache, F Lapraz, T Lepage, A Locascio, P Martinez, G Matassi, V Matranga, R Range, F Rizzo, E Röttinger, W Beane, C Bradham, C Byrum, T Glenn, S Hussain, G Manning, E Miranda, R Thomason, K Walton, A Wikramanayke, SY Wu, R Xu, CT Brown, L Chen, RF Gray, PY Lee, J Nam, P Oliveri, J Smith, D Muzny, S Bell, J Chacko, A Cree, S Curry, C Davis, H Dinh, S Dugan-Rocha, J Fowler, R Gill, C Hamilton, J Hernandez, S Hines, J Hume, L Jackson, A Jolivet, C Kovar, S Lee, L Lewis, G Miner, M Morgan, LV Nazareth, G Okwuonu, D Parker, LL Pu, R Thorn, R Wright, The genome of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus., Science (New York, N.Y.), United States, vol. 314 no. 5801 (November, 2006), pp. 941-52  [abs].
10. P Oliveri, KD Walton, EH Davidson, DR McClay, Repression of mesodermal fate by foxa, a key endoderm regulator of the sea urchin embryo., Development (Cambridge, England), England, vol. 133 no. 21 (November, 2006), pp. 4173-81  [abs].
11. JC Croce, DR McClay, The canonical Wnt pathway in embryonic axis polarity., Seminars in cell & developmental biology, England, vol. 17 no. 2 (April, 2006), pp. 168-74  [abs].
12. C Bradham, DR McClay, p38 MAPK in development and cancer., Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.), United States, vol. 5 no. 8 (April, 2006), pp. 824-8  [abs].
13. WS Beane, JM Gross, DR McClay, RhoA regulates initiation of invagination, but not convergent extension, during sea urchin gastrulation., Developmental biology, United States, vol. 292 no. 1 (April, 2006), pp. 213-25  [abs].
14. J Croce, L Duloquin, G Lhomond, DR McClay, C Gache, Frizzled5/8 is required in secondary mesenchyme cells to initiate archenteron invagination during sea urchin development., Development (Cambridge, England), England, vol. 133 no. 3 (February, 2006), pp. 547-57  [abs].
15. CA Bradham, DR McClay, p38 MAPK is essential for secondary axis specification and patterning in sea urchin embryos., Development (Cambridge, England), England, vol. 133 no. 1 (January, 2006), pp. 21-32  [abs].