Ute Rothbächer

Associate Professor

Address:
Department of Zoology
University of Innsbruck
Technikerstr. 25
6020 Innsbruck
Austria

Room: 7/09

+43 512 507-51842

Ute.Rothbaecher@uibk.ac.at

Current Research

How the dynamic developmental program is inscribed in the genome and inherited to subsequent generations remains poorly understood. Efficient functional readout, notably at DNA level in vivo is often complicated by the complexity of regulatory interactions and the complexity of genomes, particularly in vertebrates.

To unravel fundamental genetic mechanisms that control cell fate choice in vivo, we study embryonic development in a simple marine invertebrate, the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, belonging to the vertebrate sister group, the tunicates. Larval equivalent stages of ascidians and vertebrates have resembling structures such as a central notochord (embryonic structure forming the vertebral colomn in vertebrates), flanking muscles, a dorsal neural tube and notably a head with sensory organs that may be related to the greatly expanded sensory epithelia in vertebrates. The latter ‘new head’ of vertebrates likely evolved towards their successful predatory lifestyle. Whats more, ascidian embryos develop with a fixed cellular lineage based on few and large cells allowing cellular resolution of cell fate identity. The fully sequenced genome, since compact and unduplicated, gives acces to regulatory DNA segments, isolated for reporter gene essays in vivo. Such DNA constructs, when electroporated in fertilised eggs, produce transiently transgenic embryos and allow rapid gene functional and gene regulatory analyses, in precisely identifyable tissue precursors, from earliest embryonic stages in vivo.

Our research aims on deciphering embryonic gene network signatures in ascidians are:

1) the mechanisms and dynamics for gene regulatory switches affecting the pluripotent ectoderm in vivo giving rise to neural precursors. These form head sensory organs including the sensory vesicle (brain, light, gravity) and the papillae (sensory adhesive organ, for settlement and metamorphosis).  We focus on novel combinatorial codes and repressive activities of nuclear effectors for major signaling pathways, notably Wnt and FGF/MEK signaling influencing the cell fate choice of neural precursors.

2) the genetic and molecular basis for ascidian bioadhesion (via their larval sensory adhesive organ, the papillae) motivated by the search for novel biomimetic reagents.

JOVE Movie: Embryo Microinjection and Electroporation in the Chordate Ciona intestinalis

newsroom 2022 (in German): Wichtiger Ursprung unserer Sinne identifiziert

newsroom 2024 (in German): Molekulare Einblicke in die Evolutionsgeschichte

Curriculum vitae

Book Chapter (Original Paper)

• Zeng, F.; Peronato, A.; Ballarin, L.; Rothbächer, U. (2022): Sweet Tunicate Blood Cells: A Glycan Profiling of Haemocytes in Three Ascidian Species. In: Ballarin, L.; Rinkevich, B.; Hobmayer, B.: Advances in Aquatic Invertebrate Stem Cell Research: From Basic Research to Innovative Applications. Basel: MDPI AG., ISBN 978-3-0365-1636-3, pp. 351 - 379. (Web link)

•  Tassy, O., Dauga, D., Daian, F., Sobral, D., Robin, F., Khoueiry, P., Salgado, D., Fox, V., Caillol, D., Schiappa, R., Laporte, B., Rios, A., Luxardi, G., Kusakabe, T., Joly, J.S., Darras, S., Christiaen, L., Contensin, M., Auger, H., Lamy, C., Hudson, C., Rothbächer, U., Gilchrist, M.J., Makabe, K.W., Hotta, K., Fujiwara, S., Satoh, N., Satou, Y.and Lemaire, P. (2010). The ANISEED database: digital representation, formalization, and elucidation of a chordate developmental program. Genome Res 20, 1459-1468. doi:10.1101/gr.108175.110 (Web link)

• Khoueiry, P., Rothbächer, U., Ohtsuka, Y., Daian, F., Frangulian, E., Roure, A., Dubchak, I.and Lemaire, P. (2010). A cis-regulatory signature in ascidians and flies, independent of transcription factor binding sites. Curr Biol 20, 792-802. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.03.063

• Roure, A., Rothbächer, U., Robin, F., Kalmar, E., Ferone, G., Lamy, C., Missero, C., Mueller, F.and Lemaire, P. (2007). A multicassette Gateway vector set for high throughput and comparative analyses in ciona and vertebrate embryos. PLoS One 2, e916. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000916

• Rothbächer, U. , Bertrand, V., Lamy, C.and Lemaire, P. (2007). A combinatorial code of maternal GATA, Ets and beta-catenin-TCF transcription factors specifies and patterns the early ascidian ectoderm. Development 134, 4023-4032. doi:10.1242/dev.010850

• Pasini, A., Amiel, A., Rothbächer, U., Roure, A., Lemaire, P.and Darras, S. (2006). Formation of the ascidian epidermal sensory neurons: insights into the origin of the chordate peripheral nervous system. PLoS Biol 4, e225. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040225

• Lamy, C., Rothbächer, U., Caillol, D.and Lemaire, P. (2006). Ci-FoxA-a is the earliest zygotic determinant of the ascidian anterior ectoderm and directly activates Ci-sFRP1/5. Development 133, 2835-2844. doi:10.1242/dev.02448

• Rothbächer, U. and Lemaire, P. (2002). Creme de la Kremen of Wnt signalling inhibition. Nat Cell Biol 4, E172-173. doi:10.1038/ncb0702-e172

• Wallingford, J.B., Rowning, B.A., Vogeli, K.M., Rothbächer, U., Fraser, S.E.and Harland, R.M. (2000). Dishevelled controls cell polarity during Xenopus gastrulation. Nature 405, 81-85. doi:10.1038/35011077

• Rothbächer, U. , Laurent, M.N., Deardorff, M.A., Klein, P.S., Cho, K.W.and Fraser, S.E. (2000). Dishevelled phosphorylation, subcellular localization and multimerization regulate its role in early embryogenesis. EMBO J 19, 1010-1022. doi:10.1093/emboj/19.5.1010

• Louie, A.Y., Huber, M.M., Ahrens, E.T., Rothbächer, U., Moats, R., Jacobs, R.E., Fraser, S.E.and Meade, T.J. (2000). In vivo visualization of gene expression using magnetic resonance imaging. Nat Biotechnol 18, 321-325. doi:10.1038/73780

• Hobmayer, B., Rentzsch, F., Kuhn, K., Happel, C.M., von Laue, C.C., Snyder, P., Rothbächer, U.and Holstein, T.W. (2000). WNT signalling molecules act in axis formation in the diploblastic metazoan Hydra. Nature 407, 186-189. doi:10.1038/35025063

• Bauer, A., Chauvet, S., Huber, O., Usseglio, F., Rothbächer, U., Aragnol, D., Kemler, R.and Pradel, J. (2000). Pontin52 and reptin52 function as antagonistic regulators of beta-catenin signalling activity. EMBO J 19, 6121-6130. doi:10.1093/emboj/19.22.6121

• Ahrens, E.T., Rothbächer, U., Jacobs, R.E.and Fraser, S.E. (1998). A model for MRI contrast enhancement using T1 agents. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 95, 8443-8448.

• Laurent, M.N., Blitz, I.L., Hashimoto, C., Rothbächer, U.and Cho, K.W. (1997). The Xenopus homeobox gene twin mediates Wnt induction of goosecoid in establishment of Spemann's organizer. Development 124, 4905-4916.

• Johnson, J.P., Rummel, M.M., Rothbächer, U.and Sers, C. (1996). MUC18: A cell adhesion molecule with a potential role in tumor growth and tumor cell dissemination. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 213 ( Pt 1), 95-105.

• Watabe, T., Kim, S., Candia, A., Rothbächer, U., Hashimoto, C., Inoue, K.and Cho, K.W. (1995). Molecular mechanisms of Spemann's organizer formation: conserved growth factor synergy between Xenopus and mouse. Genes Dev 9, 3038-3050.

• Rothbächer, U. , Laurent, M.N., Blitz, I.L., Watabe, T., Marsh, J.L.and Cho, K.W. (1995). Functional conservation of the Wnt signaling pathway revealed by ectopic expression of Drosophila dishevelled in Xenopus. Dev Biol 170, 717-721. doi:10.1006/dbio.1995.1249

• Sers, C., Kirsch, K., Rothbächer, U., Riethmuller, G.and Johnson, J.P. (1993). Genomic organization of the melanoma-associated glycoprotein MUC18: implications for the evolution of the immunoglobulin domains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 90, 8514-8518.

• Johnson, J.P., Rothbächer, U.and Sers, C. (1993). The progression associated antigen MUC18: a unique member of the immunoglobulin supergene family. Melanoma Res 3, 337-340.

• Lehmann, J.M., Holzmann, B., Rothbächer, U., Riethmuller, G.and Johnson, J.P. (1989). [Step-wise expression of melanoma-associated antigens in tumor progression]. Onkologie 12, 273-276.

• Johnson, J.P., Lehmann, J.M., Stade, B.G., Rothbächer, U., Sers, C.and Riethmuller, G. (1989). Functional aspects of three molecules associated with metastasis development in human malignant melanoma. Invasion Metastasis 9, 338-350.

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