Work in the McCauley lab is focused on gaining an understanding of how the origin and evolution of neural crest cells has contributed to vertebrate evolution. Recent work has been focused on deciphering how changes in gene function has led to changes in the head skeleton and the peripheral nervous system, using the sea lamprey as a model for comparison with developmental mechanisms among jawed vertebrates, since lampreys and their relatives diverged from gnathostome (jawed) vertebrates early in vertebrate evolution.
We have also recently begun to investigate the feasibility of using genetic modification to impact control of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, since this animal is now an invasive species found throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes. Developing strategies to manipulate the sea lamprey genome for ecosystem management purposes may also facilitate understanding and manipulation of molecular mechanisms regulating the development of this interesting model organism.
Ferreira-Martins, D., Champer, J., McCauley, D.W., Zhang, Z., Docker, M.F. (2021) Genetic control of invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research 47: S746-S755.
York, J.R., Yuan, T. and McCauley, D.W. (2020). Evolutionary and developmental associations of neural crest and placodes in the vertebrate head: Insights from jawless vertebrates. Frontiers in Physiology,
Yuan, T., York, J.R., and McCauley, D.W. (2020). Neural crest and placode roles in formation and patterning of cranial sensory ganglia in lamprey. Genesis (2020) May;58(5):e23356. doi: 10.1002/dvg.23356.
York, J.R., and McCauley, D.W. (2020). Functional genetic analysis in a jawless vertebrate, the sea lamprey: insights into the developmental evolution of early vertebrates. Journal of Experimental Biology 223, jeb206433.
York, J.R., and McCauley, D.W. (2020). The origin and evolution of vertebrate neural crest cells. Open Biology 10: 190285.
