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Mary Ellen Lane
Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell
Biology
e-mail:
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B.A. Molecular Biology (1988) Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York
Ph.D. Biological Sciences (1994) Columbia University,
New York, New York
Research Areas
Control of cell proliferation in vertebrate embryonic neural development
Research Statement
Our primary interest is in the cellular interactions and molecular pathways that control the
development of the nervous system. In particular, we are interested in role of cell-cell
communication in the organization of tissue boundaries in the
developing eye, and in the determination of cell number and cell
size in the brain and spinal cord. We are using the zebrafish
model to address these questions, as it is well suited for a
multifaceted approach that includes classical and molecular
genetic analysis, as well as experimental manipulation of
embryos. Zebrafish mutations that disrupt the genes encoding
essential components of several cell-cell communication
pathways, as well as transgenic approaches to manipulate these
pathways on a cell-by-cell basis, are being used determine how
these pathways contribute to the development of the
cerebellum. In addition, we are identifying genes whose
expression is induced by these signal transduction pathways and
analyzing their function in regulating response to cell-cell
signaling.
Teaching Areas
Developmental Biology, Molecular Genetics
Selected Publications
Refereed articles
Dalle Nogare, D.E., Pauerstein, P.E. and Lane, M.E. "G2 acquisition by transcriptionindependent mechanism at the zebrafish midblastula transition." Developmental Biology, 326
(2009) : 131-142.
Swindell, E.C., Zilinski, C.A., Hashimoto, R., Shah, R., Lane, M.E. and Jamrich, M. "Regulation
and function of foxe3 during early zebrafish development." Genesis, 46 (2008) : 173-183.
Dalle Nogare, D.E. and Lane, M.E. "Phosphoinhibition of Cdk1 is necessary and sufficient for
establishment of Cell Cycle Checkpoints at the zebrafish MBT." (2007) Submitted
Dalle Nogare, D.E., Arguello, A., Sazer, S., and Lane, M.E. "Zebrafish cdc25a is expressed
during early deelopment and limiting for post-blastoderm cell cycle progression." Dev. Dyn,
237 (2007) : 3427-3435.
McCollum, C.W., Amin, S., Pauerstein, P., and Lane, M.E. "A zebrafish LMO4 ortholog limits
the size of the forebrain and eyes through negative regulation of six3b and
rx3." Developmental Biology, 309 (2007) : 373-385.
McCollum, C., Zilinski, C., Sagerstrom, C.G., and Lane, M.E. "Zebrafish lmo4b negatively
regulates the fgf8-pax2a positive feedback loop in the midhindbrain boundary and choroid
fissure." (2005) Submitted
Zilinski, C., Shah, R., Lane, M.E., and Jamrich, M. "Expression of zebrafish pitx3 in the
primordia of the pituitary, lens, olfactory epithelium and cranial ganglia is differentially
modulated by hedgehog and nodal signaling." Genesis, 41 (2005) : 33-40.
McCollum, C., Zilinski, C., Sagerstrom, C.G., and Lane, M.E. "Zebrafish lmo4b negatively
regulates the fgf8-pax2a positive feedback loop in the midhindbrain boundary and choroid
fissure." (2004) Submitted
Bergmann, A., and Lane, M.E. "HIDden targets on microRNAs for growth control." Trends in
Biochemical Science, 28 (2003) : 461-463.
Sathyanarayana, P., Barthwal, M.K., Lane, M.E., Acevedo, S.F., Skoulakis, E.M., Bergmann,
A., and Rana, A., "Drosophila mixed lineage kinase/slipper, a missing biochemical link in
Drosophila JNK signaling." Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1640 (2003) : 77-84.
Lane, M.E. Runko, A.P. Roy, N.M., and Sagerstrom, C.G. "Dynamic expression and regulation
by Fgf8 and Pou2 of the zebrafish LIM-Only gene, lmo4." Mechanisms of Development, 2
(2002) : 207-211.
Other
Sathyanarayana, P., Barthwal, M.K., Kundul, C.N., Lane, M.E., Bergmann, A., Tzivion, G. and
Rana, A. "Activation of the Drosophila MLK by ceramide reveals TNF-alpha and ceramide as
agonists of mammalian MLK3." Molecular Cell., 10 (2002) : 1527-1533.
Lane, M.E., Runko, A.P., and Sagerstrom, C.G. "Imo4 Is an ace/gfg8- and spg-Dependent
Gene That Regulates Development of the Zebrafish Metencephalon." Developmental Biology
(submitted)
Sagerstrom, C.G., Kao, B.A., Lane, M.E., and Sive, H.L. "Isolation and Characterization of
Posteriorly Restricted Genes in the Zebrafish Gastrula." Dev. Dyn., 220 (2001) : 402-408.
Lane, M.E., Elend, M., Heidmann, D., Herr, A., Marzodko, S., Herzig, A., and Lehner, C.F. "A
Screen for Modifiers of Cyclin E Function in Drosophila melanogaster Identifies Cdk2 Mutations
Revealing the Insignificance of Putative Phosphorylation Sites in Cdk2." Genetics, 155 (2000)
: 233-244.
Presentations
Invited Papers
"LMO4 Mediates Hedgehog and FGF signaling in Ocular Development." Southwest and Gulf
Coast Regional Society for Developmental Biology Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana. With
David Ji and Catherine McCollum
Invited Talks
"A Zebrafish LMO4 Ortholog Limits the Size of the Forebrain and Eyes through Negative
Regulation of six3b and rx3." . Fifth Annual Texas and Southern Plains Regional Zebrafish
Meeting, College Station, Texas. (June 2007) With Amin, S.
"LIM Domain Proteins in Forebrain and Eye Development." University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
(March 2007)
"Patterning and Growth Control in the Anterior CNS." Fifth European Zebrafish Genetics and
Development Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (July 2007) With Amin, S.
"Phosphoinhibition of Cdk1 Underlies Cell Cycle Lengthening at the Zebrafish Midblastula
Transition." Fifth Annual Texas and Southern Plains Regional Zebrafish Meeting, College
Station, Texas. (June 2007) With Dalle Nogare, D.E.
"Spatiotemporal Regulation of Cdk1 Phosphoregulators Ensures Cell Cycle Diversity in Early
Development." Second Strategic Conference of Zebrafish Investigators, Asilomar, California.
(February 2007)
"Towards a Molecular Definition of the Midblastula Transition." Fifth European Zebrafish
Genetics and Development Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (July 2007) With Dalle
Nogare, D.E.
"What is Evo-Devo?”." Darwin Day Celebration, Rice University, Houston, Texas. (February
2007)
"Patterning, Organization and Size Control of Tissue and Organ Formation in Vertebrate
Embryos." University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas. (October 19, 2005)
"Zebrafish LIM Domain Proteins in Brain and Eye Development." University of Houston,
Houston, Texas. (October 24, 2005)
"Cloning and characterization of CDC25 homologues from Danio rerio." 63rd Annual Meeting of
the Society for Developmental Biology, Calgary, Alberta. (July 2004)
"Lmo4 genes pattern the proximodistal axis of the embryonic eye." Sixth International
Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, Madison, Wisconsin. (July 2004)
"Zebrafish LIM-domain proteins in eye and brain development." Department of Biology, Texas
A&M University. (November 30, 2004)
"Zebrafish lmo4b id required in eye development to regulate the pax2a-fgf8 positive feedback
loop." Sixth International Conference on Zebrafish Development and Genetics, Madison,
Wisconsin. (July 2004)
"Organization and Cell Proliferation in Organ Primordia." Baylor College of Medicine, Postdoctoral Association, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX. (June 2003)
Lectures
"Demystifying Embryonic Stem Cells." Baker College Port Talk, Rice University, Houston,
Texas. (November 2, 2006)
"Evolution and Intelligent Design: Science, Politics or Religion?." Baker College Port Talk, Rice
University, Houston, Texas. (April 4, 2006)
"The Role of LIM-domain Containing Proteins in Vertebrate Eye Development." European
Conference on Zebrafish and Medaka Genetics and Development, Paris, France. (June 2003)
With Ji, D.
Other
"Fgf8 Signaling in Rostral Hindbrain Development." Experimental Biology Meeting, Orlando,
Florida. (April 1, 2001)
"Fgf8 Signaling in Rostral Hindbrain Development." Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor
College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. (October 10, 2001)
"Functional Analysis of lmo4, a Transcriptional Target of the fgf8 and spg Pathways, in Brain
and Eye Development." Texas Zebrafish Development and Genetics Meetings, San Antonio,
Texas. (July 27, 2001)
"LMO4 Mediates FgF8 Signalling in Rostral Hindbrain Development." Zebrafish Development
and Genetics Conference, Cold Spring Harbor. (April 2000) With with A. Runko and C.G.
Sagerstrom
"LMO4 Mediates FgF8 Signalling in Rostral Hindbrain Development." Annual Meeting for the
Society for Developmental Biology, (June, 2000) With with A. Runko and C.G. Sagerstrom
"Regional Patterning in the Zebrafish Hindbrain." Department of Biochemistry & Cell Biology,
Rice University, Houston, Texas. (March 2, 2000)
Posters
"Functional Divergence of Two lmo4 Co-orthologs." 7th International Conference of Zebrafish
Genetics and Development, Madison, Wisconsin. (June 14-18, 2006) With S. Amin
"Regulation of Cell Cycle Length by Cdc25 in Zebrafish Embryos." 7th International Conference
of Zebrafish Genetics and Development, Madison, Wisconsin. (June 14-18, 2006) With D.
Dalle Nogare
"Zebrafish lmo4b Regulates Forebrain and Eye Development." 7th International Conference of
Zebrafish Genetics and Development, Madison, Wisconsin. (June 14-18, 2006) With C.
McCollum and S. Amin
"Cloning and Characterization of cdc25 Genes from Zebrafish." Society for Developmental
Biology, Boulder, Colorado. (October 30, 2005)
"Developmental Control of Cell Cycle Progression in Zebrafish." Strategic Conference of
Zebrafish Investigators, Mount Desertt Island, Maine. (September 15, 2005)
"Functional Divergence of Two Zebrafish lmo4 Co-Orthologs." Society for Developmental
Biology Meeting, Boulder, Colorado. (October 30, 2005)
"Isolation and Characterization of Zebrafish cdc25 Genes." Texas and Southern Regional
Zebrafish Genetics and Development Conference, Houston, Texas. (June 3, 2005)
"Regulation of Cdk1 and the G2/M Transition by Wee Kinase." Society for Developmental
Biology Meeting, Boulder, Colorado. (October 30, 2005)
"Zebrafish lmo4b Gene Is Requierd in Eye Development to Restrict Retinal Specification and to
Regulate the pax2a-fgf8 Positive Feedback Loop." Texas and Southern Regional Zebrafish
Genetics and Development Conference, Houston, Texas. (June 3, 2005)
"Cloning and Characteization of the Cell Cycle Regulatory Genes in the Zebrafish Danio rerio."
European Conference on Zebrafish and Medaka Genetics and Development, Paris, France.
(June 2003) With Dalle Nogare, D.
"Zebrafish LMO4 Co-orthologs in Eye Development." Society for Developmental Biology,
Boston, Massachusetts. (August, 2003) With McCollum, C.
"Cell-type Specification in the Optic Primordia." Society for Developmental Biology Meeting,,
Madison, Wisconsin. (July 2002) With Catherine McCollum and David Ji
"LIM Domain Proteins in Ocular Development." International Zebrafish Development and
Genetics Conference, Madison, Wisconsin. (June 2002) With David Ji and Catherine McCollum
Supervised Theses & Dissertations
Veronica Hall-O'Connell, Ph.D. Broad-Complex, a Mediator of Ecdysone Induced Stress
Response in Drosophila melanogaster. (2004) (Committee Member)
Melanie Monroe-Augustus, Ph.D. Genetic Approaches to Elucidating the Mechanisms of Indole3-Acetic Acid and Indole-3-butyric Acid Function in Arabidopsis thaliana. (2004) (Committee
Member)
Brenton Scott, Ph.D. Regulation of SNARE-Mediated Membrane Fusion by Sec1/Munc18 (SM)
Proteins. (2005) (Committee Member)
David Ji, M.A. Elucidating the Mechanism of Action of Lmo4 in Vertebrate Eye Development.
(2005) (Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Elizabeth McCormack, Ph.D. Arabidopsis CAMs and CMLs: Regulation and Functions of Genes
Encoding Potential Calcium Sensors. (2005) (Committee Member)
Robert Cardnell, Ph.D. In vivo Analysis of Gain-of-function Mutations in the Drosophila eagEncoded K+ Channel. (2006) (Committee Member)
Nikki Delk, Ph.D. Regulation and Function of CML23 and CML24: Arabidopsis thaliana Genes
Encoding Ca2+-Binding Proteins Implicated in Absisic Acid Response, Floral Transition and Ion
Homostasis. (2006) (Committee Member)
Xiaoyang Bai, Ph.D. The Molecular Mechanism of Membrane Fusion in the Yeast S. cerevisiae.
(2007) (Committee Member)
Neda Nikravan, M.A. The Study of an Autocrine Signal Transduction Pathway that Represses
Cell Proliferation in Dictyostelium discoideum. (2007) (Committee Member)
Song Liu, Ph.D. In Vitro Fusion Catalyzed by the Sporulation-Specific t-SNARE Light-chain
Spo20p Is Stimulated by Phosphatidic Acid. (2007) (Committee Member)
Damian Dalle Nogare, Ph.D. Molecular-Genetic Analysis of Cell Cycle Diversification in Early
Zebrafish Embryos. (2007) (Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Catherine McCollum, Ph.D. Zebrafish lmo4b Restricts the Size of the Embryonic Forebrain and
Eyes Through six3b and rx3, and is Regulated by Extracellular Signals in Patterning the Eye
Along the Proximodistal Axis. (2007) (Thesis or Dissertation Director)
Philip Caldwell, Ph.D. Ras Signaling in Either Prothoracic Gland Cells or Cholinergic Neurons of
Drosophila melanogaster Regulates Fly Size. (2007) (Committee Member)
Wiriya Chiranand, Ph.D. Regulation of Nitrosative Stress Response in the Fungal Pathogen
Candida albicans by CTA4, a DNA-Binding Protein Transcription Factor. (2007) (Committee
Member)
Jeanne Rasbery, Ph.D. Genetic and Biochemical Characterization of the Squalene Epoxidase
Gene Family in Arabidopsis thaliana. (2007) (Committee Member)
Awards, Prizes, & Fellowships
Baker College Outstanding Faculty Associate Award, Baker College (April 2007)
Baker College Distinguished Faculty Associate, Baker College (2006`)
Distinguished Faculty Associate, Baker College (2005)
Member, Society for Developmental Biology,
Recipient, 2002 Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Award, March of Dimes ($150,000 research
grant),
Chair, Neural Development and Patterning Session, Southwest and Gulf Regional
Developmental Biology Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, (September 23, 2001)
Attendee, Experimental Biology Meeting, Orlando, Florida, (April 1, 2001)
Attendee, Texas Zebrafish Development and Genetics Meetings, San Antonio, Texas, (July 27,
2001)
Attendee, Zebrafish Development and Genetics, Cold Spring Harbor
Member, Society for Developmental Biology
Attendee, Annual Meeting for the Society for Develpmental Biology