Na Zhou
nzhou@indiana.edu

Indiana University
Department of Biology
1001 E. Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47405 
USA

Advisors:
Dr. Rudolf Raff, Evolution, Ecology, & Behavior, IU

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Research Interests


Heliocidaris erythrogramma 

Orthopedia(Otp) is a homeobox gene involved in patterning the developing central nervous system in mouse and Drosophila. Otp homologue in sea urchins was found in 1999. I am trying to find out what the gene does in Heliocidaris erythrogramma and in H. tuberculata larvae, in which central nervous system does not exist.

I did in situ hybridization to determine where Otp is expressed in H. tuberculata larvae. And I injected RNA transcript of Otp into H. tuberculata and H. erythrogramma eggs to misexpress the gene. The results suggest that OTP involved in pattering the H. tuberculata larvae. It is still unclear what is the gene's function in H. erythrogramma. And now I am working on in situ hybridization of Otp probe on H. erythrogramma larvae.

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Publications

...none currently...

 

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OVERVIEW M TRAINING M SEMINARSM PEOPLE M RESEARCH

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