Morris F. Maduro

MORRIS F. MADURO

Professor of Biology
Office 2121A Genomics
Phone (951) 827-7196

E-mail: mmaduro@ucr.edu

Degree:
Ph.D., University of Alberta, 1998
This is an older web page. Professor Maduro is now in the Dept of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology. Click here.

Laboratory Home Page

Dr. Maduro studies the developmental mechanisms of cell fate specification in the nematode C. elegans and its close relatives. He is interested in the regulatory gene network that specifies the embryonic mesoderm (MS) and endoderm (E) precursor cells as a model of the gene networks that act during development in many other systems. The regulators MED-1 and MED-2 function together with the evolutionarily conserved Wnt pathway in a complex gene regulatory network to specify these cells. Current work involves characterization of mechanisms by which embryos overcome stochastic differences in gene expression, as well as examining evolutionary differences in contributions made by orthologs of endomesoderm regulators in related nematodes. Dr. Maduro also has collaborations with other groups at UCR that use C. elegans to study such areas as microbial pathogenesis, fertilization and microfluidics. The C. elegans model system features a rich repertoire of tools for gene analysis, such as a complete genome sequence, transgenesis, functional genomics, and reverse genetics, and it is possible to get answers to biological questions on a short timescale.

Dr.  Maduro participates in the Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology and Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics graduate programs, and is a cooperating faculty member with the Department of Nematology.


Some Representative Publications....

Maduro MF. (2015). Developmental Robustness in the C. elegans embryo. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 82: 918-931.

Maduro MF, Broitman-Maduro G, Choi H, Carranza F, Wu AC-Y, Rifkin S. (2015). MED GATA factors promote robust development of the C. elegans endoderm. Developmental Biology 404: 66-79.

Sommerman EM, Strohmaier KR, Maduro MF and Rothman, JH. (2010). Endoderm development in C. elegans: the synergistic action of ELT-2 and -7 mediates the specification to differentiation transition. Developmental Biology 347: 154-166.

Maduro M. (2010). Cell Fate Specification in the C. elegans Embryo. Developmental Dynamics 239: 1315-29.

Owraghi M, Broitman-Maduro G, Luu T, Roberson H, and Maduro M. (2010). Roles of the Wnt effector POP-1/TCF in the C. elegans endomesoderm specification gene network. Developmental Biology 340: 209-221.

Broitman-Maduro G, Owraghi M, Hung WWK, Kuntz, S, Sternberg, PW, and Maduro M. (2009). The NK-2 class homeodomain factor CEH-51 and the T-box factor TBX-35 have overlapping function in C. elegans mesoderm development. Development 176: 2735-2746.

Lin KT-H, Broitman-Maduro G, Hung WWK, Cervantes S, and Maduro M. (2009). Knockdown of SKN-1 and the Wnt effector TCF/POP-1 reveals differences in endomesoderm specification in C. briggsae as compared with C. elegans. Developmental Biology 325: 296-306.

Maduro M. (2006). Endomesoderm specification in C. elegans and other nematodes. BioEssays 28: 1010-1022.

Broitman-Maduro G, Lin KT-H, Hung WWK, and Maduro M. (2006). Specification of the C. elegans MS blastomere by the T-box factor TBX-35. Development 133: 3097-3106.

Coroian C, Broitman-Maduro G, and Maduro M. (2006). Med-type GATA factors and the evolution of mesendoderm specification in nematodes. Developmental Biology 289: 444-455.

Lu R, Maduro M, Li F, Li HW, Broitman-Maduro G, Li WX, and Ding SW. (2005). Animal virus replication and RNAi-mediated antiviral silencing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature 436: 1040-1043.


Recent Teaching....