1) Genetic control of tissue regeneration

Regeneration and tissue repair allow lost body parts to be replaced in a variety of organisms. Our main goal is to identify the genes and gene regulatory networks necessary for this process. Drosophila is an ideal model system for genetic approaches and offers a wide variety of genetic tools that can be applied to the regeneration studies. We have established a system to remove certain domains by activation of cell death, and subsequently adjacent cells reconstitute the missing domain. Using Gal4/Gal80 and UAS-rpr constructs, targeted ablation of a region of the disc could be performed and regeneration monitored without the requirement for microsurgical manipulation. We are applying this approach to explore the early genetic and cellular events that characterize epithelial regeneration.


Group members
Montserrat Corominas
Ada Repiso
Andrea Mateo
Paula Santa Bárbara




2) Genetic engineering for epithelial regeneration

We are designing new genetic tools to induce regeneration in living tissues, with the aim to eventually screen for molecules important for regeneration. We take advantage of fly genetics and genetic engineering for generating temperature sensitive lethal genes that will be activated in specific zones or tissues. Concomitantly, binary expression systems will be used to activate transgenes that will deplete molecules important for regeneration.


Group members
Ada Repiso


3) Cell signaling: Genetic programs in retina differentiation

The development of the Drosophila retina is a model to examine the relationship between cell signaling and cell-fate specification at a single cell resolution. The activation of the Sevenless receptor tyrosine kinase is crucial for the specification of the photoreceptor R7 cell. The R7 specification can be used as a model to understand the effects of modulation of Ras/MAPK signal activity during development. Using the eye imaginal disc, we are examining the transcriptomes of gain- and loss-of –function mutants of the Sevenless/Ras/MAPK pathway to discover the genetic programs that respond to different levels of signal activity.


Group members
Montserrat Corominas
Natalia Mora