About
Anna Marie Sokac is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Illinois. Her research interests encompass a broad range of topics including the cytoskeleton, development, genetics, imaging, membrane biology, regulation of gene expression, reproductive biology, and RNA biology. She focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying morphogenesis and cellularization, particularly using Drosophila embryos as a model system. Her work involves studying membrane-actin interactions and the dynamics of the cytoskeleton during tissue morphogenesis and differentiation. Professor Sokac has contributed to advancing techniques such as glyoxal-based fixation for immunofluorescence staining and RNA in situ hybridization, which are critical for studying gene expression and cellular structures in developmental biology. Her research also explores the cellular stress responses, including actin stress responses mediated by cofilin in heat-stressed embryos, providing insights into how cells adapt or maladapt to environmental challenges. She has been recognized as a Scialog Fellow, highlighting her contributions to the field. Her office is located at CLSL, 601 S Goodwin Ave, and she can be contacted via email at asokac@illinois.edu.
Research topics
- Genetics
- Cell biology
- Biology
Selected publications
Drosophila embryo cellularization is tuned by the viscoelastic properties of membrane-cortex linkers
Biophysical Journal · 2026-03-27
articleReducing Cofilin dosage makes embryos resilient to heat stress
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-01-03 · 2 citations
preprintOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingAbstract In addition to regulating the actin cytoskeleton, Cofilin also senses and responds to environmental stress. Cofilin can promote cell survival or death depending on context. Yet, many aspects of Cofilin’s role in survival need clarification. Here, we show that exposing early Drosophila embryos to mild heat stress (32°C) induces a Cofilin-mediated Actin Stress Response and upregulation of heat- and ER-stress response genes. However, these responses do not alleviate the negative impacts of heat exposure. Instead, heat stressed embryos show downregulation of hundreds of developmental genes, including determinants of the embryonic body plan, and are less likely to hatch as larvae and adults. Remarkably, reducing Cofilin dosage blunts induction of all stress response pathways, mitigates downregulation of developmental genes, and completely rescues survival. Thus, Cofilin intersects with multiple stress response pathways, and modulates the transcriptomic response to heat stress. Strikingly, Cofilin knockdown emerges as a potent pro-survival manipulation for embryos.
BPS2025 - A computational model of Drosophila furrow invagination during cellularization
Biophysical Journal · 2025-02-01
articlebioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-07-31
preprintOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingembryos ~70% of mRNAs localize to specific sites in the cytoplasm, but the functional significance of this mRNA localization is largely unknown. During the process of embryo cellularization, mRNA encoding Serendipity-α (Sry-α), an actin filament (F-actin) binding protein, moves apically, concentrating near centrosomes. Transport is mediated by the Egl/BicD/Dynein complex and requires two stem loops in the 3'UTR of the mRNA, which serve as localization signals. mRNA localization is dispensable for Sry-α function at cleavage furrows in early cellularization but is necessary for repositioning nuclei in late cellularization. Sry-α protein promotes assembly of cortical F-actin and apical spot adherens junctions (AJs) in late cellularization, and these AJs contribute to nuclear repositioning. We suggest that mRNA localization restricts cytoskeletal functions in late cellularization to regulate nuclear repositioning in preparation for the tissue morphogenesis events that immediately follow.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-02-08
preprintOpen access1 Abstract The generation of an epithelial sheet transforms fruit fly embryos from a single syncytial cell directly into a tissue. For this to happen, the apical microvillus membrane is pulled between peripherally anchored nuclei in a process known as furrow invagination. Experimental measurements of furrow invagination velocities have shown that the rate of invagination undergoes slow-to-fast and fast-to-stalled velocity transitions during the formation of individual cells. The causes of such changes are due to multiple intersecting mechanisms and molecular components, including motor proteins, microtubules, and F-actin. In this work, we develop a continuum model to describe the dynamics of furrow invagination. Our model is constrained by previously published experimental data and considers the roles of cytoskeletal forces, cytoplasmic drag, motor protein forces, and membrane tension. We find that the viscous forces produced by the cytoskeleton sliding beneath the plasma membrane dictates furrow velocity. We propose that the slow phase is slow because there is a high density of microvilli, which increases the number of viscous contact points between the plasma membrane and the underlying cytoskeleton. This in turn, results in a higher resistance to furrow invagination. We predict that the fast phase may benefit from fewer cytoskeleton-to-plasma membrane contact points, thus reducing viscous forces and promoting the slow-to-fast switch. Then, we use perturbation and loss-of-function simulations to show that microvillus and sub-apical membrane reservoirs are vital to setting furrow invagination dynamics. This work demonstrates how coupling between the cytoskeleton, the plasma membrane, and distinct membrane reservoirs affects the plasticity and dynamics of cellularization.
STAR Protocols · 2023-07-04 · 4 citations
articleOpen accessSenior authorCorrespondingThe dialdehyde glyoxal is an alternative chemical fixative that cross-links tissues faster than formaldehyde, retains higher antigenicity, and is less hazardous than either formaldehyde or glutaraldehyde. Here we present a glyoxal-based fixation protocol for use with Drosophila embryos. We describe steps to prepare acid-free glyoxal, fix embryos, and then stain with antibodies for immunofluorescence (IF). We also describe methods for RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and FISH plus IF (FISH-IF) using glyoxal-fixed embryos. This protocol was adapted for Drosophila embryos from the methods of Bussolati et al.1 and Richter et al.2
Membrane-actin interactions in morphogenesis: Lessons learned from Drosophila cellularization
Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology · 2022 · 32 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Cell biology
- Biology
- Genetics
During morphogenesis, changes in the shapes of individual cells are harnessed to mold an entire tissue. These changes in cell shapes require the coupled remodeling of the plasma membrane and underlying actin cytoskeleton. In this review, we highlight cellularization of the Drosophila embryo as a model system to uncover principles of how membrane and actin dynamics are co-regulated in space and time to drive morphogenesis.
Editorial: Membrane dynamics during tissue morphogenesis and differentiation
Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology · 2022-06-24 · 1 citations
reviewSenior authorCorrespondingEmbryogenesis in Drosophila imaged by gradient light interference microscopy (GLIM)
2021-03-03
articleDirect Quantification of Gene Regulation by Transcription-Factor Binding at an Endogenous Gene Locus
Biophysical Journal · 2021 · 1 citations
- Biology
- Genetics
- Cell biology
Recent grants
Beyond cell shape: Actin exerts systems-level control during morphogenesis
NIH · $1.5M · 2015–2022
Actin cytoskeleton from nucleus to organism
NIH · $1.9M · 2020–2026
Frequent coauthors
- 23 shared
Ido Golding
- 15 shared
Lauren Figard
Baylor College of Medicine
- 13 shared
Natalie Biel
Baylor College of Medicine
- 12 shared
Andrew G. Davies
Virginia Commonwealth University
- 12 shared
Gabriel M. F. Pasquini
The Royal Melbourne Hospital
- 12 shared
Philip Batterham
University of Melbourne
- 12 shared
Justen R. Andrews
Royal Children's Hospital
- 12 shared
Reinhard F. Stocker
University of Fribourg
Labs
Getting to a Multiscale Understanding of the Actin Cytoskeleton
Education
- 2001
Ph.D., Cell & Molecular Biology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
- 1994
B.S. with Honors, Biological Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
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