Patricia Schneider
Assistant Professor
CDIB Division
B.Sc.: University of Para, Brazil, 2003
Ph.D.: University of Iowa, 2010
Post-Doc: University of Chicago, 2010-2011
Assistant Professor: University of Para, Brazil, 2012-2019
Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar, Northwestern University, 2019-2021
Phone: 225 578-6348
Lab Phone 225-578-8562
Office: 372 Life Sciences Bldg
Lab: 379 Life Sciences Bldg
E-mail: pschneider@lsu.edu
Website:
Area of Interest: Evolutionary Developmental Biology (EvoDevo)
The development of the vertebrate eye is a complex process orchestrated by several
conserved transcriptional and signaling regulators. Aside from partial or complete
loss, only a few examples of exceptional modifications to this intricate organ have
been reported. My research interest is to understand the mechanisms and evolutionary
forces driving morphological changes in the visual system, combining morphology and
genomic/transcriptomic approaches. In the long-term, my research program aims to shed
light into the evolutionary adaptations of the visual system and improve our understanding
of the gene regulatory networks behind these changes.
Currently, my primary research interest is to study evolutionary innovations of the
visual system, using the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps as a research species. With
a partially duplicated eye, simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision, and a single optic
nerve, Anableps consists in a unique model to study the developmental and genetic
bases of evolutionary novelty. Our next step is aimed at expanding on our recent
findings and establishing Anableps as a research system to uncover the molecular mechanisms
controlling the specialization of retina photoreceptors and the molecular changes
leading to the partial eye duplication.
Selected Publications
Perez LN, Mariluz BR, Lorena J, Liu A, Sousa MP, Martins RAP, Taylor JS, Schneider PN. The subterranean catfish Phreatobius cisternarum provides insights into visual adaptations to the phreatic environment. Int J Dev Biol. 2021;65(4-5-6):245-250.
Beaudry FEG, Iwanicki TW, Mariluz BRZ, Darnet S, Brinkmann H, Schneider P, Taylor JS. The non-visual opsins: eighteen in the ancestor of vertebrates, astonishing increase in ray-finned fish, and loss in amniotes. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2017 Nov;328(7):685-696.
Perez LN, Lorena J, Costa CM, Araujo MS, Frota-Lima GN, Matos-Rodrigues GE, Martins RA, Mattox GM, Schneider PN. Eye development in the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps: cranial and retinal adaptations to simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision. Proc Biol Sci. 2017 Apr 12;284(1852):20170157.
Marcellini S, González F, Sarrazin AF, Pabón-Mora N, Benítez M, Piñeyro-Nelson A, Rezende GL, Maldonado E, Schneider PN, Grizante MB, Da Fonseca RN, Vergara-Silva F, Suaza-Gaviria V, Zumajo-Cardona C, Zattara EE, Casasa S, Suárez-Baron H, Brown FD. Evolutionary Developmental Biology (Evo-Devo) Research in Latin America. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol. 2017 Jan;328(1-2):5-40.
Schneider PN, Slusarski DC, Houston DW. Differential role of Axin RGS domain function in Wnt signaling during anteroposterior patterning and maternal axis formation. PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44096.