Abitua Lab
Genome Sciences at the University of Washington
Office: 206-221-7597
Email: abitua@uw.edu
Research
The Abitua lab studies the evolution of developmental novelties by comparing homologous cells across distantly related species. Currently, we are exploring cellular innovation in the annual killifish Nothobranchius furzeri, whose embryos adapted to survive extreme environmental conditions. Their radical morphogenesis and ability to enter diapause — suspended animation — distinguish them uniquely from other fish and make them ideal for studying novelty.
Latest Preprint
Early immune cell development precedes gastrulation in annual killifish
Embryos usually make cell types in a predictable order because specific signals appear in the right tissues at the right time. In annual killifish, we found that neutrophils, an early immune cell type, form before the tissue that normally gives rise to them even exists. We propose that evolution can change the layout of an embryo and, in doing so, redeploy a conserved program for making a cell type at a new time and place.
Abitua Lab
Phil Abitua, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Department of Genome Sciences
3720 15th Ave NE
Foege Building, S203
Seattle, WA 98105
Office: 206-221-7597