Shapes of organisms are highly variable, yet there are common principles in constructing different body or tissue shapes. Recent study showed that common cellular properties or molecular nature are repeatedly utilized in distinct morphogenetic processes. The goal of my study is to understand how the cellular behaviors common to various morphogenesis are implemented by molecular interactions and how organisms utilize those common principles to build different shapes. I would like to address those questions by using a tiny organism, Drosophila with combination of multi-disciplinary approaches such as genetics, molecular biology and mechanics.
Assistant Professor UMETSU Daiki
| Campus | Aobayama campus |
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| Laboratory |
Histogenetic Dynamics
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| Tel | +81-22-795-6701 |
| umetsu＠tohoku.ac.jp |
| Career |
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| Selected Publications |
Umetsu D. and Dahmann, C. Umetsu, D., Dunst, S., and Dahmann, C. Umetsu, D., Aigouy, B., Aliee, M, Sui, L., Eaton, S., Jülicher F., and Dahmann, C. Umetsu, D. and Dahmann, C. Umetsu, D.*, Landsberg, K.*, Farhadifar, R.*, Ranft, J.*, Widmann, T., Bittig, T., Said, A., Jülicher, F. and Dahmann, C. Umetsu, D.*, Yasugi, T.*, Murakami, S., Sato, M. and Tabata, T. Umetsu, D., Murakami, S., Sato, M. and Tabata, T.
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| Activities in Academic Societies |
Japanese Society of Developmental Biologists, The Molecular Biology of Japan |
Recent Activities
Tissue boundaries are formed by preventing cell mixing between neighboring cell populations. Boundaries are found not only between tissues but also within a tissue. Those boundaries are used as a landmark that gives cells positional information during tissue patterning. However, how cell mixing is limited at boundaries are unknown. I have been trying to understand the mechanisms by combining genetics, micro-laser dissection, live imaging, quantitative image analysis and computer simulations. We found that mechanical tension on cell junctions is locally increased at the boundaries. The local increase in tension is important for maintaining boundaries. Currently, I am interested in how cells locally increase mechanical tension at boundaries at molecular level. I am also aiming to understand how cells sense physical forces and utilize them during tissue morphogenesis.