Abstract:

How does an embryo produce complex body patterning starting from a single cell?  In the egg, and throughout development,  location  is everything.  The contents of the egg are partitioned non-uniformly during early cell division, and this sets up a cascade of position-driven manifestations of cell fate.  Why should it be any different in the brain? Indeed, the reason the front end of the neural tube becomes the brain and not the spinal cord is precisely because it’s located at the front, where “rear” inducing signals are repressed.  Similar location-dependent mechanisms act to position brain structures in their appropriate positions, and in the control of neuron versus glia production in different parts of the brain.  I will describe our studies that uncover a fundamental step in designing the “blueprint” of the brain- the mechanism that induces the formation of the hippocampus, a structure critical for learning and memory, in its proper position.  Then, I will present evidence that reveals the control of the neuron-glia cell fate switch to be position dependent as well, employing different mechanisms in the hippocampus and in the adjacent neocortex.

About the Speaker:

Shubha Tole is professor of biological sciences at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Her lab focusses on genetic mechanisms and signalling pathways in the developing brain. For her contributions to the field of developmental neuroscience, she has received many prestigious awards including the Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar award and the Infosys prize.