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Cell Intercalation

Cell intercalation is a critical during development and contributes to fundamental processes like gastrulation and organogenesis. We investigate how cells coordinate their movement to form a functional tissue using the follicular stalk cell model in the adult Drosophila ovary.

Stalk cells undergo radial intercalation where they progressively intercalate to form a single row of cells which connect growing egg chambers. The availability of genetic manipulations and ex vivo live imaging techniques allow us to study fundamental questions of cell intercalation:

• How do cells coordinate movement and cellular force during intercalation?
• How do cells determine the directionality of intercalation?
• What are the underlying transcriptomic changes accompanying intercalation?

Learn more about our research in our preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.06.611635