Associate Professor and Co Chair
Dr. Beatrice Holton
Associate Professor
and Co Chair
Department of
Biology/Microbiology
800 Algoma Ave.
UW Oshkosh
Oshkosh, W 54901
(920) 424-7087
or 424-1102
holton@uwosh.edu
Education and Training:
B.A.
University of California, San Diego,
1974 (degree in Biology)
PhD.
University of Oregon, Eugene, 1980
(degree in Developmental Biology)
Postdoctoral
Research Fellow:
Pasteur
Institute, Paris, France, 1980-83
University of California, Berkeley,
1983-1987
Courses that I teach:
Biology 105 Concepts in
Biology: Unity (usually Fall semester)
Biology 323 Introductory Molecular and
Cell Biology (usually Fall semester)
Biology 372 Advanced Molecular and Cell
Biology
Biology 316 Developmental Biology
Biology 317 Cell/Developmental
Biology Laboratory
Biology 373 Biology Spring Field Trip
Research Interests:
What is a
developmental biologist?
I am a cell and
developmental biologist.
Developmental biologists are interested in how single cells (e.g.
fertilized eggs) give rise to entire organisms that consist of multiple tissue
types. What chemical signals direct
some cells to become neurons, for example, whereas others become pigment
cells? What physical forces shape
the developing embryo? What factors
control cellular and tissue movement so that embryonic features develop? These are only a few of the hundreds of
questions that drive the research of developmental biologists.
My particular research interests:
FORMATION OF THE
AMNIOTIC MEMBRANE DURING CHICK DEVELOPMENT
Very early in
chick development the embryo is simply a population of cells in the midst of a
circular sheet of cells (the blastodisc).
As development proceeds, this sheet buckles at the anterior (head) end
and forms a fold. This fold rises
above the head of the embryo, collapses over the head and then moves down the
embryo until it, and a similar fold from the posterior, completely enclose the
embryo in the amniotic sac. My
laboratory is interested in two broad aspects of this phenomenon:
1) The fold, as it moves down the embryo,
appears to be under tension.
Preliminary work from this lab suggests that the tension is important for
proper embryonic trunk alignment.
If tension is vital to proper formation of the embryo and the membrane,
how is that tension controlled?
Cell proliferation or cell death could regulate this tension. Two students in my laboratory are
examining the contribution of each to formation of the amniotic membrane.
2) As the fold progresses down the embryo
it seems that it must either unroll or tractor down the embryo, or it must zip
together as a body bag would enclose a body. A student is currently examining the
physical process by which the membrane expands and envelopes the embryo. She is also mapping the position of
cells that seem to be under tension and those that are not. Her aim is to understand better the
source of the tension that seems so important for development. Another student is examining changes to
the cytoskeleton in individual amniotic cells as the membrane forms.
Students currently in my
laboratory:
Evrard, Yvette – Master’s degree student who graduated from UWO with a double major in Biology and Art. She was supported Summer 2002 with a Faculty/Graduate Student Collaborative Grant.
Pulver, Rebecca
– Master’s degree student who graduated from UWO with a major in Biology. She began research in my lab as an
undergraduate and was supported by a Faculty/Undergraduate Student Collaborative
Grant.
Tilkens, Pennie
– Master’s degree student who currently teaches at Green Bay Technical
College.
Govani, Shaheda
– Undergraduate, first year student….just getting started!
Most Recent Presentations (*denotes student
co-authors):
Pulver, R.*,
Evrard, Y.*, Tilkens, P.* and Holton, B. Control of tension across the
chorioamniotic membrane.
Society for Developmental Biology 61st Annual Meeting,
Madison, Wisconsin, July 21-25, 2002.
Macdonald, T.E.*
and Holton, B. PI3 kinase activity
affects formation and expansion of the amniotic membrane in avian
embryos. Society for
Developmental Biology 59th Annual Meeting, Boulder, Colorado, June
7-11, 2000.
Publications (*denotes student
co-authors):
McDermott, C.M., Nho, C.W.*, Howard, W.*
and Holton, B. (1998) "The
cyanobacterial toxin, microcystin-LR, can induce apoptosis in a variety of cell
types." Toxicon 3(12):1981-1996.
Holton, B., Wu, X., Tsapin, A.I., Kramer,
D.M., Malkin,R. and Kallas,T. (1996) "Reconstitution of the 2Fe-2S
Center and g=1.89 Electron
Paramagnetic Resonance Signal into Overproduced Nostoc
sp. PCC 7906 Rieske Protein." Biochemistry 35:15485-15493.
Holton, B., C.J. Wedeen, C.J., S.H.
Astrow* and D.A. Weisblat (1994) "Localization of Polyadenylated RNA's During
Teloplasm Formation and Cleavage of Leech Embryos." (1994) Roux Archives Developmental
Biology 204:46-53.
Holton, B., Middleton, K.*, Zarka, D.*,
Alsaadi, R.* and T. Kallas. (1992). "Overproduction of the Rieske Fe-S protein
and preparations for mutagenesis of the cytochrome b6f complex in
cyanobacteria. In: Progress in Photosynthesis Research, Proc.
IXth Intl. Congr. Photosynthesis (N. Murata, ed.) Vol. II, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Dordrecht pg. 567-570.
Astrow, S.*, B. Holton and D.A. Weisblat.
(1989) "Teloplasm Formation in a Leech Helobdella triseriallis Is a
Microtubule-dependent Process." Developmental Biology 135, 306-319.
Holton, B., S. Astrow * and D.A.
Weisblat. (1989) "Animal and Vegetal Teloplasm(s) Mix in the Early Embryo of the
Leech Helobdella triserialis." Developmental Biology 131, 182-188.
Weisblat, D.A., S. Astrow, S.* Bissen, R.
Ho, B. Holton and S. Settle. (1987) "Early Events Associated with Cell Fate in
Leech Embryos." in Genetic Regulation of
Development, W.S. Loomis, ed., Alan R. Liss, N.Y. 265-285.
Astrow, S.*, B. Holton and D.A. Weisblat.
(1987) "Centrifugation Redistributes Factors Determining Cleavage Patterns in
Leech Embryos." Developmental
Biology 120, 270-283.
Changeux, J.-P., F. Bon, J. Cartaud, A.
Devillers-Thiery, J. Giraudat*, T. Heidman*, B. Holton, H.O. Nghiem, J.-L.
Popot, R. Van Rapenbusch, S. Tzartos. (1983) "Allosteric Properties of the
Acetylcholine Receptor Protein from Torpedo marmorata." Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative
Biology 48, 35-52.
Holton, B.* and J.A. Weston. (1982)
"Analysis of Glial Cell Differentiation in Peripheral Nervous Tissue. II.
Neurons Promote S100 Synthesis by Purified Glial Precursor Cell Populations." Developmental Biology 89,72-81.
Holton, B.* and J.A. Weston. (1982)
"Analysis of Glial Cell Differentiation in Peripheral Nervous Tissue. I.S100
Accumulation in Quail Embryo Spinal Ganglion Cultures." Developmental Biology 89, 64-71.