Zeba Wunderlich

Current Research

Regulatory DNA encodes the gene regulatory networks that are required for virtually every process in an animal, from development to immunity. The Wunderlich lab is interested in understanding how a gene regulatory network’s tasks influence its architecture, robustness, and evolvability. To probe these questions, we use two model systems: the Drosophila early embryonic patterning system and the Drosophila innate immune response. In both systems, we pair imaging-based and genomic measurements of gene expression with statistical and physically based computational models to explore questions of gene regulatory network function. We exploit naturally occurring sequence variation between individuals and species as a tool to measure how changes in regulatory DNA affect transcriptional regulation.

Selected Publications

• Fletcher A, Wunderlich Z, Enciso G. Shadow enhancers mediate trade-offs between transcriptional noise and fidelity. PLOS Computational Biology. (2023). doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011071
• BA Ramirez-Corona, AC Love, S Chandrasekaran, JA Preshcer, Z Wunderlich. Longitudinal monitoring of individual infection progression in Drosophila melanogaster. iScience. (2022). doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105378
• R Waymack, M Gad, Z Wunderlich. Molecular competition can shape enhancer activity in the Drosophila embryo. iScience. (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103034
• L Li, R Waymack, M Gad, Z Wunderlich. Two promoters integrate multiple enhancer inputs to drive wild-type knirps expression in the D. melanogaster embryo. Genetics. (2021) doi: 10.1093/genetics/iyab154
• BA Ramirez-Corona, S Fruth, O Ofoegbu, Z Wunderlich. The mode of immune-responsive gene expression divergence in D. melanogaster is infection-specific. Genome Research. (2021). doi: 10.1101/gr.269597.120
• E Kvon, R Waymack, M Gad, Z Wunderlich. Enhancer Redundancy in Development and Disease. Nature Reviews Genetics. (2021).
 doi: 10.1038/s41576-020-00311-x
• R Waymack, A Fletcher, G Enciso, Z Wunderlich. Shadow enhancers suppress input transcription factor noise through distinct regulatory logic. eLife. (2020). doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011071
• L Li, Z Wunderlich. An Enhancer’s Length and Composition Are Shaped by Its Regulatory Task. Frontiers in Genetics. (2017).
 doi: 10.3389/fgene.2017.00063