How an embryo forms within an egg is a fascinating process. 

In the fly Drosophila, the segmentation gene hierarchy leads to the subdivision of the larva into iterated units, the segments. During the blastoderm stage of a Drosophila embryo, all segments develop nearly simultaneously which is called the long germband mode.

In contrast, in the blastoderm embryo of the flour beetle Tribolium only few body segments have formed showing the type of a short germband embryo. The remaining body segments along the anterior-posterior axis are added sequentially later during embryogenesis that involves the posterior growth zone tissue. Short germband development is a representative type of embryogenesis and occurs in most Arthropods and in vertebrates.

We are interested how different signal transduction pathways (Wnt, Fgf) direct body axis elongation, limb development and head formation.

To understand these processes we combine RNA-interference with expression analyses of marker genes, live imaging and electron microscopy.

... of insect appendages is endless. In fact, morphological features of antennae, mouthparts, and legs serve to distinct one species from the other. Yet, the developmental program of setting up the proximo-distal (PD) axis of an appendage is highly conserved. We want to understand the genetic basis of how limbs between species became different during evolution. We therefore analyse the genetic network of setting up the PD axis in the short germband model organism Tribolium castaneum. As in most other arthropods, Tribolium limbs elongate continuously during embryogenesis from a limb bud, similarly as in vertebrates. The Sp8 gene is required for stretching the proximo-distal axis in Drosophila, Tribolium and the mouse. This implies that Sp8 is part of the essential genetic toolkit for animal development.

... in a short germband embryo is regulated by a tissue at the posterior of the embryo, called the growth zone or the tail bud. In the growth zone, multiple pathways such as Ras/Raf signaling and the WNT (panel a) - and FGF- signaling pathways (panel b (blue) in relation to twist-expression (red)) are involved in embryonic patterning. We currently characterise the gene regulatory networks of the growth zone and the cellular architecture of this proliferative tissue. Specifically, we are interested in the gene regulatory networks that specify the growth zone, that maintain axial growth and that are involved in terminating the activity of the growth zone. By applying high-resolution microscopy we aim for the understanding of this tissue at the cellular level.