The Role of mbx in Zebrafish Brain Development

The dividing cells in an embryo need to specialize into particular types of cells as the embryo develops from a single cell into a full organism. By examining this process at a molecular level in model organisms,we will gain a better understanding of how this process happens in human embryos.More specifically, our research investigates genes involved in the development of the midbrain in zebrafish, a vertebrate model system, by looking at a novel gene,mbx, and what goes wrong when the expression of this gene is changed.This research will lead to a better understanding of the midbrain, as well as diseases that affect the midbrain such as Parkinson¹s disease.