THE HARDIN LAB
An elongating C. elegans embryo expressing AJM-1::GFP (green) and stained for F-actin using phalloidin (red) [Abbi Cox].Morphogenesis requires that cells make strong connections with one another. We are studying how two complexes, the cadherin complex and the DLG-1/AJM-1 complex are regulated during morphogenesis.
Elongation involves actomyosin mediated contraction of the epidermal cells, transmitted through cell-cell junctions. Junctional actin networks must remodel during this process. We are studying actin-binding proteins that mediate this "self-healing" response to cell shape change.
For more, see Lynch,, Zhu et al (2022). Curr. Biol., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.045.