James Langeland

Upjohn Professor of Life Sciences,
Professor of Biology

PhD University of Wisconsin
BA Kalamazoo College

Tel: 269.337.7010; Office: Dow 310
Email: Jim.Langeland@kzoo.edu

Dr. Jim Langeland
  • 2009-present   Professor of Biology, Kalamazoo College, MI
  • 2003-2009   Associate Professor of Biology, Kalamazoo College, MI
  • 1997-2003   Assistant Professor of Biology, Kalamazoo College, MI

Research Interests


My research lies at the interface of molecular genetics, developmental biology, and evolution. In broad terms, I am interested in genetic and developmental events that underlie the evolution of animal form. I use organisms that occupy key phylogenetic positions in the chordate lineage: amphioxus, a cephalochordate that is the closest living relative to vertebrates; lampreys, the simplest living vertebrates; and sharks, the simplest vertebrates that have jaws and limbs. By cloning and characterizing developmentally important genes from these organisms, my lab is able to correlate gene duplications and the acquisition of novel gene expression domains with morphological innovations that occurred during early vertebrate evolution.

Courses

BIOL 112 Evolution and Genetics
BIOL 420 Advanced Molecular Genetics
BIOL486 Animal Development & Evolution
SEMN166 The Inward Journey

Grants and Awards

WM Keck Foundation. $380,000 for the integration of teaching and research.
National Science Foundation Grant #0110540; $320,000; 7/01-6/05
National Institutes of Health Grant # 1R15GM57803-01; $100,000; 7/98-6/01

Selected Publications

(* denotes undergraduate coauthor)

Campo-Paysaa, F., Jandzik, D., Takio-Ogawa, Y., Cattell, M.V., *Neef, H.C., Langeland, J.A., Kuratani, S., Medeiros, D.M., Mazan, S., Kuraku, S., Laudet, V., and Schubert, M. (2015).  Evolution of retinoic acid receptors in chordates: insights from three lamprey species, Lampetra fluviatilis, Petromyzon marinus and Lethenteron japonicum.  EvoDevo 6:18.

Moore, D.B., *Gillentine, M.A., *Botezatu, N.M., *Wilson, K.A., *Benson A.E. and Langeland J.A. 2014. Asynchronous evolutionary origins of Aβ and BACE1.  Molecular Biology and Evolution. 31(3): 696-702.  doi:10.1093/molbev/mst262

Smith, J.J, (several others), Langeland, J.A., (several others), Li, Weiming.  2013. The lamprey genome: illuminating vertebrate origins.  Nature Genetics.  45: 415–421.

Tank, E.M.*, Dekker, R.G.*, Beauchamp, K.*, Wilson, K.A.*, Boehmke, A.E*., and Langeland, J.A. 2009. Patterns and consequences of vertebrate Emx gene duplications.  Evolution and Development.  11(4): 343-353.

Furge, L.L., Stevens-Truss, R., Moore, D.B. Langeland, J.A. (2009) Vertical and horizonal integration of bioinformatics education: a modular, interdisciplinary approach.  Biochem. Mol. Biol. Ed. 1: 26-26

Rahimi R.A.*, Allmond J.*, Wagner H*., McCauley D.W. and Langeland J.A. 2008. Lamprey snail highlights conserved and novel patterning roles in vertebrate embryos.  Development Genes and Evolution.  219(1): 31-36.

Langeland J.A., Holland L.Z., Chastain R.A. and Holland N.D. 2006. An amphioxus LIM-homeobox gene, AmphiLim1/5, expressed early in the invaginating organizer region and later in differentiating cells of the kidney and central nervous system. Int J Biol Sci 2: 40-46.

Neidert, A.H*., Virupannavar, V.*, Hooker, G.W.* and Langeland, J.A. 2001. Lamprey Dlx genes and Early Vertebrate Evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98: 1665-1670.

Neidert, A.H.* Panopoulou, G., and Langeland, J.A. 2000. Amphioxus goosecoid and the Evolution of the Head Organizer and Prechordal Plate. Evolution and Development 2(6): 303-310.

Jackman, W. R., Jr.,Langeland, J.A. and Kimmel, C.B. 2000. islet reveals segmentation in the amphioxus hindbrain homolog. Developmental Biology 220: 16-26.

Tomsa, J.M.* and Langeland, J.A. 1999. Otx expression during lamprey embryogenesis provides insights into the evolution of the vertebrate head and jaw. Developmental Biology. 207:26-37.

Amores, A., Force, A., Yan, Y-L. Joly, L., Amemiya, C., Fritz, A., Ho, R.K., Langeland, J.A., Prince, V., Wang, Y-L, Westerfield, M., Ekker, M. and Postlethwait, J.H. 1998. Zebrafish hox Clusters and Vertebrate Genome Evolution. Science. 282:1711-1714.

Langeland, J.A. Tomsa, J.M., William R. Jackman, W. R., Jr. and Kimmel, C.B. 1998. An amphioxus snail gene: Expression in paraxial mesoderm and neural plate suggests a conserved role in patterning the chordate embryo. Development, Genes, and Evolution. 208: 569-577.

Langeland, J.A. 1998. Imaging immunolabelled Drosophila embryos by confocal microscopy. In: Methods in Molecular Biology, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ.

Langeland, J. A. and Kimmel, C. B. 1997. Fishes. In: Embryology: Constructing the Embryo. Sinauer Associates.

Carroll, S.B., Weatherbee, S. and Langeland, J.A. 1995. Homeotic genes and the regulation and evolution of insect wing number. Nature. 375: 58-61.