William McGinnis

Distinguished Professor
Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCSD
Herbert Stern Chair in Biology

e-mail: wmcginnis@ucsd.edu
Lab Homepage: McGinnis Lab

One major research interest is the genetic control of architectural patterns in developing embryos. We focus principally on the Hox genes, which control morphology on the anterior-posterior body axis, and we are interested in how Hox genes and proteins have changed during evolution to alter animal shapes. As part of this analysis, we are developing new methods to map transcriptional activation patterns of many genes simultaneously in individual nuclei, count the number of mRNA molecules in individual cells, and detect DNA regulatory sequences and their protein regulators in individual nuclei.

    We are also exploring the genes underlying an epidermal wound response pathway in Drosophila melanogaster. This evolutionarily conserved pathway can be activated by sterile puncture wounds, or by loss of Hox function. The transcription factors encoded by the grainy head and fos-D genes are critical components of this pathway. Genetic screens are identifying new components in the wound response pathway, including the extracellular signals and receptors that instruct cells surrounding wounds to initiate epidermal barrier repair.

Ronshaugen, M., McGinnis, N. and McGinnis, W. (2002) Hox protein mutation and macroevolution of the insect body plan. Nature 415:914-917.

Lohmann, I., McGinnis, N., Bodmer, M. and McGinnis, W. (2002) The Drosophila Hox protein Deformed sculpts head morphology by direct regulation of the apoptosis activator reaper. Cell 110:457-466.

Pearson, J.C., Lemons, D. and McGinnis, W. (2005) Modulating Hox gene functions during animal body patterning, Nature Reviews Genetics 6:893-904.

Tour, E., Hittinger, C.T. and McGinnis, W. (2005) Evolutionarily conserved domains required for activation and repression functions in the Drosophila Ubx protein. Development 132:5271-5281.

Mace, K.A., Pearson, J.C., and McGinnis, W. (2005) An epidermal barrier wound repair pathway in Drosophila is mediated by grainy head. Science 308:381-385.

Lemons, D. and McGinnis W. (2006) Genomic evolution of Hox gene clusters, Science 313:1918-1922.

Taghli-Lammalem, O., Hsia, C., Ronshaugen, M., and McGinnis, W. (2008) Context-dependent regulation of Hox protein function by CK2 phosphorylation sites. Development Genes and Evolution 218:321-332.

    Bill McGinnis received his Ph.D from UC Berkeley in 1982 and was a Jane Coffin Childs postdoctoral fellow at the University of Basel.  From 1984 to 1995, he was on the faculty of Yale University. He received a Searle Scholar Award, a Presidential Young Investigator Award, and a Dreyfuss Teacher/Scholar Award.