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Research Topic

We are employing the developing zebrafish embryonic gonad as an accessible in vivo model for organ formation, focusing on the analysis of interactions among germ cells and cells in their environment and among the migrating cells and non-cellular structures they encounter. To this end, we developed a range of methods that allow us to follow migrating germ cells, manipulate different features in their motility apparatus, and manipulate cells located along the migration track towards the gonad. We find that interactions of germ cells with cell types in their environment and with other structures affect the front-back axis, motility, and the type of protrusions the cells produce, leading to changes in the migration mode. We are currently characterizing the migrating cells employing artificial intelligence and neural networks-based capabilities we established. These approaches allow us to go beyond manual phenotype evaluation tools to provide unbiased quantitative information that provides a holistic description of the migrating cells under different conditions. 

Selected Publications

  • Tarbashevich, K*., Labbaf, Z.*, Ophaus, M., Schick, J., Kühl, L., Gross-Thebing, S., Reichman-Fried, M., Hoffmann, D., Stehling. M., Seggewiss, J, Ruckert, C., Kroll, J.B., Junker, J-P., Raz, E. (2026). Cell-autonomous control coupled with tissue context regulates the cessation of migration at the site of organ development. Development 153 (16): dev205271.  doi:10.1242/dev.205271. * Equal contribution

  • Hoffmann, D., Agranov, T.+, Kühl, L., Simons, BD., Gov, N., Raz, E.+ (2025).  Corrections in single cell migration path in vivo are controlled by pulses in polar Rac1 activation. Current Biology, 35 (18): P4365-4382.E8 doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.07.063.

  • Truszkowski, L., Batur, D., Long, H., Tarbashevich, K., Vos, B.E., Trappmann, B., Raz E. (2023). Primordial germ cells adjust their protrusion type while migrating in different tissue contexts in vivo. Development 150 (2): dev200603. doi: 10.1242/dev.200603.
  • Olguin-Olguin, A.*, Aalto, A.*, Maugis, B., Boquet-Pujadas, A., Hofmann, D., Ermlich, L., Betz, T., Gov, N.S., Reichman-Fried, M., Raz, E. (2021). Chemokine-biased robust self-organizing polarization of migrating cells in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 118 (7) e2018480118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2018480118.* Equal contribution
  • Gross-Thebing, S*., Truszkowski, L*., Tenbrinck, D*+., Sánchez-Iranzo, H., Camelo, C.,  Westerich, K.J., Singh, A., Paul Maier, P., Prengel, J., Lange, P., Hüwel, J., Gaede, F., Sasse, R., Vos, E.B., Betz, T., Matis, M., Prevedel, R., Luschnig, S., Diz-Muñoz, A., Burger, M., Raz, E+. (2020). Using migrating cells as probes to illuminate features in live embryonic tissues. Science Advances (6) 49, eabc5546. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abc5546. * Equal contribution , + co-corresponding authors