Laboratory for Development and Evolution

Department of Zoology

Dr Anastasios (Tassos) Pavlopoulos

Dr Anastasios (Tassos) PavlopoulosResearch Associate

Tel: + 44 (0) 1223 331772/3
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 337766

ap448@cam.ac.uk

Interests and research

Animal organs develop particular shapes and sizes that suit the lifestyle of the organism. My postdoctoral work on Hox genes that control organ identity has provided the entry point into my major research interests in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control morphogenesis. I am carrying out complementary systems biology studies of appendage morphogenesis using two animal models: Drosophila melanogaster that is best suited to study the Hox-regulated transcriptional networks controlling morphogenesis and cell differentiation, and the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis, a crustacean that is best suited to study the cell dynamics of tissue morphogenesis.

Flies, like Drosophila melanogaster shown in the left panel, develop a pair of wings on the second thoracic segment and a pair of modified balloon-shaped hind-wings on the third thoracic segments known as halteres. The wing develops in the absence of any Hox input (blue in inset), while the Hox gene Ultrabithorax is expressed specifically in the haltere (magenta in inset) and promotes haltere cell fate by regulating hundreds of target genes. Crustaceans, like Parhyale hawaiensis pictured in the right panel, exhibit an impressive morphological diversity in their appendages, some of which are highlighted with different colors. Transgenic Parhyale embryos labeled with fluorescent tracers (shown in inset) allow live imaging of appendage morphogenesis throughout embryogenesis.

Publications

  • Z. Kontarakis, A. Pavlopoulos, A. Kiupakis, V. Douris, N. Konstantinides and M. Averof (2011). A versatile strategy for gene trapping and trap conversion in emerging model organisms, Development, 138: 2625-2630
  • A. Pavlopoulos (2011) Identification of DNA sequences that flank a known region by inverse PCR, Invited Chapter in Methods in Molecular Biology Volume “Molecular Methods for Evolutionary Genetics” in press.
  • A. Pavlopoulosand M. Akam (2011) The Hox gene Ultrabithorax regulates distinct sets of target genes at successive stages of Drosophila haltere morphogenesis, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 108(7): 2855-2860.
  • M. Averof , A. Pavlopoulos, Z. Kontarakis (2010) Evolution of new appendage types by gradual changes in Hox gene expression – the case of crustacean maxillipeds, Paleodiversity 3 Supplement: 141-146.
  • A. Pavlopoulos, Z. Kontarakis, D.M. Liubicich, J.M. Serano, M. Akam, N.H. Patel and M. Averof (2009) Probing the evolution of appendage specialization by Hox gene misexpression in an emerging model crustacean, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106(33): 13897-13902.
  • D.M. Liubicich, J.M. Serano, A. Pavlopoulos, Z. Kontarakis, M.E. Protas, E. Kwan, S. Chatterjee, K.D. Tran, M. Averof and N.H. Patel (2009) Knockdown of Parhyale Ultrabithorax recapitulates evolutionary changes in crustacean appendage morphology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106(33): 13892-13896.
  • A. Pavlopoulos & M. Akam (2007) Hox go omics: insights from Drosophila into Hox gene targets, Genome Biology 8: 208.
  • A. Pavlopoulos, S. Oehler, M. G. Kapetanaki & C. Savakis (2007) The DNA transposon Minos as a tool for transgenesis and functional genomic analysis in vertebrates and invertebrates, Genome Biology 8 Supplement 1:S2.
  • A. Pavlopoulos & M. Averof (2005) Establishing genetic transformation for comparative developmental studies in the crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 102(22): 7888-7893.
  • A. Pavlopoulos, A. J. Berghammer, M. Averof & M. Klingler (2004) Efficient transformation of the beetle Tribolium castaneum using the Minos transposable element: quantitative and qualitative analysis of genomic integration events, Genetics 167(2): 737-46.
  • A. Pavlopoulos & M. Averof (2002) Developmental evolution: Hox proteins ring the changes, Current Biology 12(8): R291-3.
  • A. G. Klinakis, T. G. Loukeris, A. Pavlopoulos & C. Savakis (2000) Mobility assays confirm the broad host-range activity of the Minos transposable element and validate new transformation tools, Insect Molecular Biology 9(3): 269-75.
  • CV
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