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21 December 2022
2022 in Review
Join us as we review scientific discoveries of 2022, ranging from the human genome to planarian flatworms, from regeneration to metabolism
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Our mission is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying development, evolution, and regeneration.
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PublicationsResearch Summary
Development and Regeneration, Genetics and Genomics, Evolutionary Biology, Systems Biology
Fruit flies, Sea anemones
The Gibson Lab uses a broad range of contemporary approaches, from molecular genetics to computational modeling, to investigate the cellular and molecular basis for key events during animal development. Over the last decade the lab has primarily focused on the fruit fly Drosophila and the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Currently the lab is developing new approaches to study the biology of corals, close relatives of Nematostella.
At Stowers, the Gibson Lab continues to study Drosophila and has branched out to investigate development and cell biology in Nematostella, a member of the phylum Cnidaria, which includes jellyfish and corals. The team leveraged their Drosophila expertise to pioneer rigorous new experimental approaches in Nematostella, applying genetic methods to gain functional insights. They were the first lab to successfully use CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in Nematostella, laying the groundwork for researchers to apply the method in anemones and related cnidarians.
Gibson plans to expand his research on reef-building corals, which account for 25% of global marine biodiversity, in addition to continued research with Drosophila and Nematostella.
Principal Investigator
Investigator and Dean of the Graduate School
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Matt Gibson, Ph.D., is a developmental biologist and an Investigator at the Stowers Institute. Gibson joined Stowers in 2006 and was named Dean of the Graduate School in 2019.
Matt Gibson, Ph.D., is a developmental biologist and an Investigator at the Stowers Institute. Gibson joined Stowers in 2006 and was named Dean of the Graduate School in 2019.
The lab uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to study how cells are organized into sheets called epithelial layers, which provides a structural context for understanding animal development and evolution. The highly developed research toolkit available for Drosophila allows interrogation of how epithelial cell shape and proliferation are regulated at a molecular level.
“The key attribute that attracted me to study the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is the potential to make discoveries with profound implications for understanding evolution. It’s like taking a time machine back 600 million years and being able to ascertain how ancient biology worked. That’s incredibly powerful on its own, but due to a striking degree of evolutionary conservation, Nematostella also offers the potential for new insights into the functioning of the human genome.” – Matt Gibson
The lab recently added corals, a close relative of sea anemones and jellyfish, to its assembly of research organisms. This marine Cnidarian will allow further research into animal development, body patterning, comparative biology, and evolutionary biology.
News
21 December 2022
Join us as we review scientific discoveries of 2022, ranging from the human genome to planarian flatworms, from regeneration to metabolism
Read Article
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The architecture and operating mechanism of a cnidarian stinging organelle
Karabulut A, McClain M, Rubinstein B, Sabin KZ, McKinney SA, Gibson MC. Nat Commun. 2022;13:3494. doi: 10.1038/s41467-41022-31090.
Impact of cilia-related genes on mitochondrial dynamics during Drosophila spermatogenesis
Bauerly E, Akiyama T, Staber C, Yi K, Gibson MC. Dev Biol. 2022;482:17-27.
Rivera HE, Chen CY, Gibson MC, Tarrant AM. J Exp Biol. 2021;224: jeb236745. doi: 236710.231242/jeb.236745.
Cell-Size Pleomorphism Drives Aberrant Clone Dispersal in Proliferating Epithelia
Ramanathan SP, Krajnc M, Gibson MC. Dev Cell. 2019;51:49-61 e44.
Karabulut A, He S, Chen CY, McKinney SA, Gibson MC. Dev Biol. 2019;448:7-15.
Ragkousi K, Marr K, McKinney S, Ellington L, Gibson MC. Curr Biol. 2017;27:1381-1386.