Home › Kellee Siegfried-Harris

Faculty & Staff

Areas of Expertise

Developmental Biology; Genetics

Degrees

Ph.D. Genetics, University of Wisconsin Madison
B.S. Genetics, University of California Davis

Professional Publications & Contributions

• Bowen, M.E., K. Henke, K.R. Siegfried, M.L. Warman, M.P. Harris (2012). Efficient mapping and cloning of zebrafish mutants by low coverage whole genome sequencing. Genetics, 190(3), 1017-24.
• Liew, W.C., R. Bartfai, Z. Lim, R. Sreenivasan, K.R. Siegfried, L. Orban (2012). The zebrafish has polygenic sex determination. PlosOne, 7(4), e34397.
• Saito, K., KR Siegfried, C. Nüsslein-Volhard, N. Sakai (2011). Isolation and cytogenetic characterization of zebrafish meiotic prophase I mutants. Developmental Dynamics, 240, 1779-1792.
• Siegfried, K.R. (2011). Molecular and chromosomal aspects of sex determination. In: Farrell A.P. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Fish Physiology: from genome to environment. Elsevier.
• Siegfried, K.R. (2010). In search of determinants: gene expression during gonadal sex differentiation. Journal of Fish Biology 76, 1879-1902.
• Siegfried, K.R., C. Nüsslein-Volhard (2008). Germ line control of female sex determination in zebrafish. Developmental Biology, 324(2), 277-287.

Additional Information

Research Interests

Germ Cell Development
We are interested the genetic regulation of germ cell development. The germ line is a unique tissue in that it is the only cell type that gives rise to the next generation. To carry out this essential task, germ cells must maintain latent pluripotency yet still differentiate into gametes. We use the zebrafish to discover genes that are necessary for germ cell development. We have isolated a collection of zebrafish mutants with defects in various aspects of germ cell development. These range from early germ cell survival, meiotic defects and formation of germ cell tumors. We are currently working towards identifying what the effected genes are that lead to these defects.

Sex Determination
The method by which sex is determined is still not understood. There are many factors that influence the decision for an individual zebrafish to develop as a male or a female. Recent data suggests that the method of zebrafish sex determination is primarily polygenic, that is, several loci in the genome determine sex. There are likely allelic variants of these regulators of sex that lead to the sex determination decision. We are using both mutant analysis and genomic approaches to identify genes regulating sex in zebrafish.