We use genetic, molecular, and embryologic tools to study the development of mammalian germ cells and the somatic structures that house them, the gonads. Some of our work focuses on human males or females who are infertile because of genetic defects disrupting germ cell development. Other studies are carried out in a more experimentally manipulable mammal, the mouse. We are particularly interested in the roles that X and Y-encoded proteins play in germ cell and reproductive tract development, and we are constructing comprehensive maps and gene catalogs of the human Y chromosome that will provide a foundation for future explorations.
Germ cells occupy a central position in animal development, heredity, and evolution.
In mammals, germ cells are first recognizable outside the portion of the embryo that will form the body. These primordial germ cells invade the developing body and migrate to the gonads, which at that stage are indistinguishable in males and females. The gonads differentiate into ovaries or testes. In parallel, the primordial germ cells become committed to give rise to oocytes or sperm. We use a wide range of tools to study the development of the mammalian reproductive tract, especially the germ cells.