In development, a single cell, the fertilized egg, turns into a complex organism consisting of millions of cells. The cells of the embryo differentiate into many different cell types, and they are arranged in complex spatial patterns. This process generally proceeds with striking precision. Our group is interested in understanding the mechanisms that ensure the stability of developmental processes despite stochastic perturbations. We use the zebrafish as a model system to study organ development and regeneration. Our projects typically combine experimental and theoretical approaches, and it is our goal to study single cells in their spatio-temporal context. To this end, we use and develop novel genome-wide single-cell approaches.
Key Publications
Moreno-Ayala R.; Olivares-Chauvet P.; Schäfer R.; Junker J.P.
Variability of an early developmental cell population underlies stochastic laterality defects.
Cell Reports (2021) , 34: 108606
Spanjaard B.; Hu B.; Mitic N.; Olivares-Chauvet P.; Janjuha S.; Ninov N.; Junker J.P.
Simultaneous lineage tracing and cell type identification using CRISPR/Cas9 induced genetic scars
Nature Biotechnology (2018), 36: 469-473
Selected by Science as part of the “Breakthrough of the Year 2018”
Junker J.P.; Peterson K.A.; Nishi Y.; Mao J.; McMahon A.P.; van Oudenaarden A.
A predictive model of bifunctional transcription factor signaling during embryonic tissue patterning
Developmental Cell (2014), 31 (4): 448-460
Junker J.P.; Noel E.S.; Guryev V.; Peterson K.A.; Shah G.; Huisken J.; McMahon A.P.; Berezikov E.; Bakkers J.; van Oudenaarden A.
Genome-wide RNA tomography in the zebrafish embryo
Cell (2014), 159 (3): 662-675
Junker J.P.; Ziegler F.; Rief M.
Ligand-dependent equilibrium fluctuations of single calmodulin molecules
Science (2009), 323 (5914): 633-637
Junker Lab Berlin 