Maura McGrail

Dr. McGrail, Professor, received her BS in Biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her PhD in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics from the University of Minnesota. Her previous positions include postdoctoral work at the University of California-San Diego, Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City, and the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

Research Description

The McGrail lab studies brain development and disease using the zebrafish genetic model system. We develop CRISPR genome editing technologies that allow zebrafish Cre/lox cell type-specific gene knockout and lineage tracing. With these approaches we investigate novel mechanisms of neural progenitor cell cycle regulation, cell division symmetry, and cell fate specification. The McGrail lab also provides the wider zebrafish community with resources for CRISPR genome editing to generate new conditional genetic models of development and disease.

Neural Progenitor Cell Division Symmetry and Fate

We are investigating cell cycle control mechanisms that regulate the symmetry of neural progenitor cell division and the fate of daughter cells during brain development. Conditional gene knockout and live imaging are used to examine how cell cycle progression determines apical polarity and symmetry of forebrain ascl1 progenitor cell division.

Zebrafish Community Cre/lox Resource for Conditional Genetics

The Zebrafish Community Cre/lox Resource for cell type-specific lineage labeling and gene function is funded by the National Institutes of Health Office of Research Infrastructure Programs NIH R24 OD020166 and NIH R24 OD036201.

Our mission is to provide the Zebrafish community with Cre resources that open new areas of investigation and promote novel discoveries in human health, development, and disease. With GeneWeld CRISPR/Cas9 targeted integration we generate knock-ins that unlock previously inaccessible cell lineages and cell type specific gene studies to broaden the scope and impact of Zebrafish research.

Cre drivers

Cre and tamoxifen regulated-CreERT2 knockins for spatial and temporal analysis of proneural, mesoderm, endoderm, vascular, blood and hematopoietic stem cell lineages. 

Floxed UFlip Conditional alleles

Floxed conditional alleles in genes that regulate the epigenome and mitochondrial function, rapidly emerging areas crucial to development, disease, and regeneration. Floxed alleles allow simultaneous gene inactivation and mRFP labeling of mutant cells. 

Complete Publication List

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/maura.mcgrail.1/bibliography/public/

Recent Publications

Ming Z, Liu F, Moran HR, Lalonde RL, Adams M, Restrepo NK, Joshi P, Ekker SC, Clark KJ, Friedberg I, Sumanas S, Yin C, Mosimann C, Essner J, McGrail M. Lineage labeling with zebrafish hand2 Cre and CreERT2 recombinase CRISPR knock-ins. Dev Dyn. 2025 Mar 26. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/dvdy.70022

Siddiqui S, Liu F, Kanthasamy AG, McGrail M. Stat3 mediates Fyn kinase driven dopaminergic neuron loss and microglia activation. 2024 Dis Model Mech. 2024 Dec 1;17(12). doi: 10.1242/dmm.052011

Davison C., Harzman H, Nicholson J, Mobley K, Entriken S, Krull A, Singhal M, McGrail M, Srivastava R, Essner JJ. Tagging the tjp1a gene in zebrafish with monomeric Red Fluorescent Protein using biotin homology arms. 2024 Zebrafish Vol. 21, No. 2, April 2024: 181-190.

McGrail M, Sakuma T, Bleris L. Genome editing. Editorial. Sci Rep 2022 Nov 28. 12, 20487. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-24850-x.

Liu F, Kambakam S, Almeida MP, Ming Z, Welker JM, Wierson WA, Schultz-Rogers LE, Ekker SC, Clark KJ, Essner JJ, McGrail M. Cre/lox regulated conditional rescue and inactivation with zebrafish UFlip alleles generated by CRISPR-Cas9 targeted integration. eLife 2022 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.71478.

Schultz-Rogers LE, Thayer ML, Wierson WA, Helmer JA, Wishman MD, Wall KA, Greig JL, Forsman JL, Puchhalapalli K, Nair S, Weiss TJ, Luiken JM, Blackburn PR, Ekker SC, Kool M, McGrail M. Rbbp4 loss disrupts neural progenitor cell cycle regulation independent of Rb and leads to Tp53 acetylation and apoptosis. 2022. Developmental Dynamics doi/abs/10.1002/dvdy.467.

Almeida MP, Welker JM, Siddiqui S, Luiken J, Ekker SC, Clark KJ, Essner JJ, McGrail M. Endogenous zebrafish proneural Cre drivers generated by CRISPR/Cas9 short homology directed targeted integration. Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 18;11(1):1732. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-81239-y.

Welker JM, Wierson WA, Almeida MP, Mann CM, Torrie ME, Ming Z, Ekker SC, Clark KJ, Dobbs DL,  Essner JJ, McGrail M. GeneWeld: a method for efficient targeted integration directed by short homology in zebrafish. Bio-protocol 2021 July 21; 11(14): e4100. DOI: 10.21769/BioProtoc.4100.

Wierson WA, Welker JM, Almeida MP, Mann CM, Webster DA, Weiss TJ, Torrie ME, Volbrecht MK, Lan M, McKeighan KC, Leavy J, Ming Z, Wehmeier A, Mikelson CS, Haltom JA, Kwan KM, Chien C-B, Balciunas D, Ekker SC, Clark KJ, Webber BR, Moriarity BS, Solin SL, Carlson DF, Dobbs DL, McGrail M*, Essner JJ*. Efficient targeted integration directed by short homology in zebrafish and mammalian cells. eLife. 2020 May 15;9. pii: e53968. doi: 10.7554/eLife.53968. PMID:32412410  * co-corresponding authors.

Ichino N, Serres M, Urban R, Urban M, Schaefbauer K, Greif L, Varshney GK, Skuster KJ, McNulty M, Daby C, Wang Y, Liao H-k, El-Rass S, Ding Y, Liu W, Schimmenti LA, Sivasubbu S, Balciunas D, Hammerschmidt M, Farber SA, Wen X-Y, Xu X, McGrail M, Essner JJ, Burgess S, Clark KJ, Ekker SC. Building the vertebrate codex using the Gene Breaking Protein Trap Library. eLife 2020; 9:e54572 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.54572

Wierson WA, Simone BW, WareJoncas Z, Mann C, Welker JM, Kar B, Emch MJ, Friedberg I, Gendron WAC, Barry MA, Clark KJ, Dobbs DL, McGrail MA, Ekker SC, Essner JJ. Expanding the CRISPR Toolbox with ErCas12a in Zebrafish and Human Cells. CRISPR J. 2019 Nov 19. doi: 10.1089/crispr.2019.0026. PMCID: PMC6919245.