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| Limb Development: Embryology and Genetics to Evo-Devo |
Lee Niswander, PhD |
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Professor and Head of Developmental Biology Section, Pediatrics
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
and The Children’s Hospital
Denver, Colorado |
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The embryonic vertebrate limb is a classic paradigm for the
study of pattern formation, cell growth and death, and skeletal
formation. Our understanding of the molecular signals that
regulate limb patterning is relatively complete. However, many
questions remain as to how these signals are interpreted and
translated into skeletal elements that are adapted to the needs
of each animal on land, sea and air. Outstanding questions in
patterning and skeletal formation include how and when are
limb cells specified and acquire distinct cell fates in order to
contribute to specific skeletal elements and what are the cellular
and molecular mechanisms that lead to the establishment of the
skeletal elements of the correct size and shape? Our work has
contributed to answers to these questions. Moreover, our experiments
have shown that our current knowledge is deep enough
to begin to unravel the molecular mechanisms that underlie
evolutionary change in other animals such as the bat.
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