Probing organ growth in light of morphogenetic gradients

• Applicant: Rita Mateus, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Developmental Biology ; Biophysics
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 548220137

Accurate growth control is critical for the achievement of proportional organs during animal development and repair processes. Either extra or deficient growth rates lead to organ functional impairment. The understanding of how organs acquire, recover, and fine-tune their final size has been a long-lasting biological problem. How do organs measure their current size? This proposal will tackle this question by investigating the physical properties governing morphogen concentration gradients, given their crucial role as growth regulators. Here, we propose to implement quantitative analyses of BMPs as morphogens, considering their organization as spatial gradients of concentration, in the zebrafish pectoral fin. Achieving this will unravel the fundamental biophysical processes that control dynamic growth rate adaptation to diverse growth scenarios - leading to functional re-acquisition of organ proportions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants