Self-organization of the nucelar array in early Drosophila embryos

The early Drosophila embryo is a syncytium of up to 6000 nuclei. This project studies the early embryo as an active quasi-2D model tissue, in which forces generated by motor proteins and cytoskeletal filaments drive embryonic development. Mechanical interactions and non-equilibrium fluctuations will be investigated using fluorescent labels for centrosomes and motor proteins. This will make it possible to study and theoretically model non-equilibrium dynamics in the embryo on different length scales, from the molecular scale of motors to the collective dynamics of nuclei.