Skip to main content
menu
URochester Medicine / Labs / Diekwisch Lab / Areas of Research / Tooth Enamel Evolution and Development

Tooth Enamel Evolution and Development

Regularly spaced red-stained crystalline columns angle to the left between flaky white crystals angled to the right.

Tooth enamel viewed with a scanning electron microscope

Our lab is interested in determining the molecular mechanisms that govern enamel formation.  Early on, we discovered the functional significance of supramolecular enamel matrix organization for enamel development (Diekwisch et al. 1993). We also demonstrated the independence of enamel deposits from adjacent dentin (Diekwisch et al. 1995).

In a series of evolutionary biology studies, we cloned and characterized a number of novel amelogenin genes, including frogs, salamanders, and iguanas in reptiles and amphibians (Wang et al. 2005, Diekwisch et al. 2006, Wang et al. 2006, Diekwisch et al. 2009, Wang et al. 2014). Based on these studies, we established polyproline repeat elongation as a mechanism for amelogenin aggregate compaction and enamel crystal elongation (Jin et al. 2009, PLoS Biology).

Finally, our lab reported the first complete 3D structure of the major tooth enamel protein, amelogenin (Zhang et al. 2011). Currently, we are asking how mineral ions are transported toward the enamel layer and what factors govern the nucleation and elongation of enamel crystals. Using an evolutionary biology approach, we are now studying the relationship between the amelogenin molecule and enamel mechanical properties.

Contributions to Journals