Project Fact Sheet
EMBRYOMICS
Embryomics : reconstructing in space and time the cell lineage tree
Action Line: NEST-2003-1 Adventure activities
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Coordinator
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Contact Person:
Name: PEYRIERAS, Nadine
Tel: +14-43-23955
Fax: +14-43-23988
Email: Contact
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Organisation:
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE
UPR 2197 - Développement, évolution et plasticité du système nerveux
3 rue Michel-Ange
FRANCE
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Embryomics is devoted to the morphodynamical
"reconstruction" of the cell lineage tree underlying the processes of
animal embryogenesis. We will design a set of strategies, methods and
algorithms to "sequence" the cell lineage tree as a branching process
annotated in space and time. We view this highly interdisciplinary
project as the foundation of a new scientific field that we call
Embryomics with a reference to Genomics. In the same sense as Genomics,
Embryomics is both a scientific field and a technology to gather data
with a lot of potential applications.
But the Embryomics data is much more 'complex' than a mere DNA
sequence as it does not appear as a linear static information in one
dimension but as a branching dynamical process displayed in space and
time. To deal with this information, we undertake a highly novel and
most promising approach based on the strategies of the mammalian visual
system. Our goal is to fully reconstruct the dynamics of cell divisions
and movements from time-lapse series of high-resolution optical
sections obtained by multiphoton laser scanning microscopy throughout
embryonic development of live animals. Embryomics will allow the
automated tracking of events such as cell division and cell death in
live embryos and give us access to parameters such as the rate of cell
proliferation in time and space.
This kind of data is highly relevant to investigate stem cell
populations, early steps of cancerogenesis and drug effects in vivo.
The post-genomic era needs such a systematic approach at the level of
the cellular organization to achieve an integrated understanding of
biological processes. In addition, through the investigation of four
different organisms with key phylogenetic positions, we aim at
promoting the use of non-mammalian animal models. A comparative
Embryomics strategy is the best way to evaluate the relevance of animal
models, whatever their evolutionary distance to human, for further
medical applications.
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Project details
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| Project Reference: 12916 |
Contract Type: Specific Targeted Research Project |
| Start Date: 2005-11-01 |
End Date: 2008-10-31 |
| Duration: 36 months |
Project Status: Execution |
| Project Cost: 2.34 million euro |
Project Funding: 1.45 million euro |
| Participant Organization: ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA' |
Country: ITALY |
| Participant Organization: INSTITUT PASTEUR |
Country: FRANCE |
| Participant Organization: SLOVENSKA TECHNICKA UNIVERZITA V BRATISLAVE |
Country: SLOVAKIA |
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