Dr Matthew Towers
School of Biosciences
Reader of Developmental Biology
Wellcome Senior Fellow in Basic Biomedical Science
+44 114 222 4697
Full contact details
School of Biosciences
D18c
Firth Court
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
- Profile
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- 2017-present: Reader of Developmental Biology, University of Sheffield
- 2017- present: Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow, University of Sheffield
- 2011-2016: MRC Career Development Fellow, University of Sheffield
- 2010-2011: Independent researcher, University of Sheffield
- 2007-2010: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Bath
- 2005-2007: Postdoctoral researcher, University of Dundee
- 2003-2004: Research assistant, University of East Anglia, Norwich
- 1998-2003: PhD, John Innes Centre, Norwich
- 1995-1998: BSc Genetics, University of Leeds
- Research interests
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Vertebrate limb development
Lay summary
We are interested in how complex structures are correctly formed in the body. The crucial events that control how we develop occur during the earliest stages of life in the embryo. In particular, our research is centred on how limbs develop and we mostly work on chicken embryos because we can look directly at how they develop by opening a small window in the egg.
We want to understand how cells divide for the correct number of times in order to generate correctly patterned limbs. This research is important because it can give insights into the mechanisms that cause cells to lose control of cell division and turn into cancerous tumours. In addition, by revealing how digits develop, we can use this knowledge to understand the causes of birth defects that affect the limb and other structures in the body.
Technical summary
Understanding how embryonic development is timed and scaled remains one of the most important questions in biology. Knowledge of this will inform many areas of embryonic patterning and will also have implications for stem cell development, regenerative biology and clinical disorders.
A major reason why this problem remains unanswered is that it is extremely difficult to understand whether the behaviour of a cell is determined intrinsically or by extrinsic signals in vivo. In our recent publications, we have shown that intrinsic timing mechanisms play a crucial role in chick limb patterning (Chinnaiya et al., Nat Comm 2014) (Saiz-Lopez et al., Nat Comm 2015). We have demonstrated this by coupling embryological techniques with modern molecular analyses in the chick limb, which is a classical developmental model.
At present the questions we are focussing on are:
- Do cell cycle regulators form the basis of intrinsic timers?
- How are intrinsic timers integrated with extrinsic signals to control growth and patterning and is developmental time reversible?
- How do intrinsic timers and extrinsic signals scale species-specific development?
- Role of cell cycle regulators in hypothalamic patterning (with Prof. Marysia Placzek).
- Publications
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Show: Featured publications All publications
Featured publications
Journal articles
- Fgf signalling triggers an intrinsic mesodermal timer that determines the duration of limb patterning. Nature Communications, 14(1), 5841.
- Sonic hedgehog specifies flight feather positional information in avian wings. Development, 147(9). View this article in WRRO
- Inhibition of Shh signalling in the chick wing gives insights into digit patterning and evolution.. Development, 143(19), 3514-3521. View this article in WRRO
- An intrinsic timer specifies distal structures of the vertebrate limb. Nature Communications, 6. View this article in WRRO
- Molecular Genetics of Human Congenital Limb Malformations. eLS.
- Insights into bird wing evolution and digit specification from polarizing region fate maps.. Nat Commun, 2, 426.
- Integration of growth and specification in chick wing digit-patterning.. Nature, 452(7189), 882-886.
All publications
Journal articles
- Fgf signalling triggers an intrinsic mesodermal timer that determines the duration of limb patterning. Nature Communications, 14(1), 5841.
- A neuroepithelial wave of BMP signalling drives anteroposterior specification of the tuberal hypothalamus. eLife, 12.
- Retinoic acid influences the timing and scaling of avian wing development. Cell Reports, 38(4).
- Establishing the pattern of the vertebrate limb. Development, 147(17), dev177956-dev177956.
- Sonic hedgehog specifies flight feather positional information in avian wings. Development, 147(9). View this article in WRRO
- An autoregulatory cell cycle timer integrates growth and specification in chick wing digit development. eLife, 8. View this article in WRRO
- Development of the basal hypothalamus through anisotropic growth. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 31(5), e12727-e12727.
- An intrinsic cell cycle timer terminates limb bud outgrowth. eLife, 7. View this article in WRRO
- Polarizing Region Tissue Grafting in the Chick Embryo Limb Bud, 143-153.
- The chick limb: embryology, genetics and teratology. The International Journal of Developmental Biology, 62(1-2-3), 85-95.
- Fgf10(+) progenitors give rise to the chick hypothalamus by rostral and caudal growth and differentiation.. Development, 144, 3278-3288. View this article in WRRO
- Evolution of antero-posterior patterning of the limb: insights from the chick.. Genesis. View this article in WRRO
- Transcriptional changes in chick wing bud polarization induced by retinoic acid. Developmental Dynamics. View this article in WRRO
- Sonic Hedgehog Signaling in Limb Development.. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 5, 0-0. View this article in WRRO
- The origins, scaling and loss of tetrapod digits. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 372(1713).
- The origins, scaling and loss of tetrapod digits. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 372(1713), 20150482-20150482.
- Intrinsic properties of limb bud cells can be differentially reset. Development, 144(3), 479-486.
- Inhibition of Shh signalling in the chick wing gives insights into digit patterning and evolution.. Development, 143(19), 3514-3521. View this article in WRRO
- An intrinsic timer specifies distal structures of the vertebrate limb. Nature Communications, 6. View this article in WRRO
- Molecular Genetics of Human Congenital Limb Malformations. eLS.
- Sonic hedgehog-expressing cells in the developing limb measure time by an intrinsic cell cycle clock.. Nat Commun, 5, 4230. View this article in WRRO
- Mathematical Modelling of Digit Specification by a Sonic Hedgehog Gradient. DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, 243(2), 290-298.
- Gradients of signalling in the developing limb.. Curr Opin Cell Biol, 24(2), 181-187.
- 3D expression patterns of cell cycle genes in the developing chick wing and comparison with expression patterns of genes implicated in digit specification.. Dev Dyn, 240(5), 1278-1288.
- Insights into bird wing evolution and digit specification from polarizing region fate maps.. Nat Commun, 2, 426.
- Expression of E2F transcription factor family genes during chick wing development.. Gene Expr Patterns, 9(7), 528-531.
- Generation of pattern and form in the developing limb.. Int J Dev Biol, 53(5-6), 805-812.
- Growing models of vertebrate limb development.. Development, 136(2), 179-190.
- Integration of growth and specification in chick wing digit-patterning.. Nature, 452(7189), 882-886.
- Micro-magnetic resonance imaging of avian embryos.. J Anat, 211(6), 798-809. View this article in WRRO
- The Expression of D-Cyclin Genes Defines Distinct Developmental Zones in Snapdragon Apical Meristems and Is Locally Regulated by the Cycloidea Gene. Plant Physiology, 122(4), 1137-1148.
- Accurate staging of chick embryonic tissues via deep learning of salient features. Development.
- An intrinsic cell cycle timer terminates limb bud outgrowth.
- A positional information gradient of sonic hedgehog is required for flight feather formation in avian wings.
Chapters
- Development of the Neuroendocrine Hypothalamus, Masterclass in Neuroendocrinology (pp. 3-30). Springer International Publishing
- Vertebrate Embryo: Limb Development (pp. 1-10). Wiley
Conference proceedings papers
- Contributions of polarizing region cells to digit pattern. MECHANISMS OF DEVELOPMENT, Vol. 126 (pp S211-S212)
- Developmental control of the cell cycle. Cell Biology International, Vol. 27(3) (pp 283-285)
Preprints
- Fgf signalling triggers an intrinsic mesodermal timer that determines the duration of limb patterning, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- A neuroepithelial wave of BMP signalling drives anteroposterior specification of the tuberal hypothalamus, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Bespoke data augmentation and network construction enable developmental morphological classification on limited microscopy datasets, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Species-specific developmental timing dictates expansion of the avian wing skeletal pattern, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Fgf signalling triggers an intrinsic mesodermal timer that determines the duration of limb patterning. Nature Communications, 14(1), 5841.
- Research group
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Current lab members
- Connie Rich
- Holly Stainton
- Lara Busby
- Aragorn Jones
- Professional activities and memberships
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- F1000 - faculty member in pattern formation
- Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship Award