Research Summary

During development, discrete organs and entire body plans emerge from the coordinate actions of individual cells. These complex morphogenetic events require dynamic regulation of cell shape, polarity and adhesion across cell populations. Our lab seeks to understand how these diverse cellular behaviors are orchestrated to produce an organ's functional shape.

To this end, we are using genetic, cell biological and live imaging approaches in Drosophila to investigate how a simple, ovarian structure called and egg chamber lengthens as it grows. We are particularly interested in the roles that collective cell migration and basement membrane remodeling play in this process. Please visit our lab website for more information about the strengths of this system and the specific questions that we pursue.

Selected Publications

Lewellyn, L., Cetera, M. and Horne-Badovinac, S. (2013).  Misshapen decreases integrin levels to promote epithelial motility and planar polarity in Drosophila. (in press, Journal of Cell Biology)

Lerner, D.W., McCoy, D., Isabella, A.J., Mahowald, A.P., Gerlach, G.F., Chaudhry, T.A. and Horne-Badovinac, S. (2013). A Rab10-dependent mechanism for polarized basement membrane secretion during organ morphogenesis. Developmental Cell 24, 159-168. (PubMed)

Horne-Badovinac, S. Hill, J.J., Gerlach, G., Menegas, W., and Bilder, D. (2012). A screen for round egg mutants in Drosophila identifies Tricornered, Furry and Misshapen as regulators of egg chamber elongation. Genes|Genomes|Genetics, 2(3), 371-378. (PubMed)

Horne-Badovinac, S. and Munro, E. (2011). Tubular Transformations. Science, 333(6040), 294-295. (PubMed)

Horne-Badovinac, S. and Bilder, D. (2008). Dynein regulates epithelial polarity and the apical localization of stardust A mRNA. PLoS Genetics, 4(1), 40-51. (PubMed)

Horne-Badovinac, S. and Bilder, D. (2005). Mass Transit: epithelial morphogenesis in the Drosophila egg chamber. Developmental Dynamics, 232(3), 559-574. (PubMed)

Horne-Badovinac, S., Rebagliati, M. and Stainier, D.Y. (2003). A cellular framework for gut looping morphogenesis in zebrafish. Science, 302(5645), 662-665. (PubMed)

Horne-Badovinac, S., Lin, D., Waldron, S., Schwarz, M., Mbamalu, G., Pawson, T., Jan, Y.N., Stainier, D.Y.R., Abdelilah-Seyfried, S. (2001). Positional cloning of heart and soul reveals multiple roles for PKC-gamma in zebrafish organogenesis. Current Biology 11, 1492-1502. (PubMed)