Cell fate determination in early mammalian development lab

In mammals, fertilization involves the fusion of two fully differentiated cells, the gametes, whose genomes undergo a profound epigenetic reprogramming to become a totipotent embryo with the capacity to form all lineages, both embryonic and extraembryonic. This epigenetic reprogramming is closely associated with the transition from maternal to zygotic control of gene expression during Zygotic Genome Activation. Cell potency then gets gradually restricted, first with the specification of the extraembryonic lineages and later through the formation of the germline and three germ layers which will give rise to the foetus itself.

Our group is interested in studying the gene regulatory networks underlying these early stages of mammalian development, with a focus on transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, cell fate decisions and genome integrity control, which is particularly critical at a point when any cell has the capacity to contribute to the embryo and the germ line.

We also have a keen interest in understanding early developmental processes in the context of mammalian evolution, as many of the events that take place at these early stages are conditioned by the mammal-specific need to form extraembryonic structures to support in utero embryo growth

The main research interest of the lab is understanding the molecular mechanisms governing the cellular reprogramming that occurs after fertilisation and that converts the transcriptionally inactive zygote into a transcriptionally active totipotent embryo capable of forming all cell lineages. For this we focus not only on the study of processes historically associated with developmental biology like transcriptional regulation, but also on the role played by the mechanisms that regulate homeostasis maintenance, such as genome integrity control and RNA splicing regulation.

1. Crosstalk between DNA damage response pathways and early development processes such as zygotic genome activation and totipotency acquisition and loss.
2. Impact of nuclear organization on genome regulation during early mammalian development.
3. Regulation of cell fate transitions in the early embryo in the context of mammalian evolution.