Harnoš lab

🐸What do we work with?
We study early Xenopus frog embryos: a powerful model for developmental biology. 

🔬Why frogs?
Their embryos are large, develop outside the body, and are ideal for live imaging and experimental manipulation. 

🧪Why Xenopus?
Xenopus was the first reliable model used for human fertility testing (the Hogben test) and later became the most widely used amphibian model in biomedical research. 

🧠What do we study?
Neural tube formation, neural crest cell migration, and the signaling mechanisms that shape developing tissues.
And more. 

Want to discover more? Click the link to our short reportages on Czech Radio or Czech TV broadcasts (both in Czech), and the popular biology blog, The Node (in English).

Fellowships, Grants, and Awards 

• *2026 – 2028: MUNI Junior Star (#MUNI/JS/1952/2025), Grant Agency of Masaryk University, Czechia
• *2025 – 2026: MSCAfellow5_MUNI (#22_010/0003229), Czech MEYS, Czechia
• *2024 – 2026: Grant in the Standard/Senior category (#24-10622S), Czech Science Foundation, Czechia
• 2023: Hemsley Fellowship (#203103), Xenopus course, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, NY, USA (declined due to family reasons)
• 2022 – 2024: Grant in the Standard/Senior category (#22-06405S), Czech Science Foundation, Czechia
• 2022 – 2024: Science & Humanities Award Junior (#MUNI/J/0004/2021), Grant Agency of Masaryk University, Czechia
• 2020: “Seal of Excellence” in MSCA-IF-2020 (#101028952), European Commission, Brussels
• 2018 – 2019: “Excellent Results” Grant (#MUNI/E/0533/2018), Grant Agency of Masaryk University, Czechia
• 2017 – 2017: EMBO Short-term Fellowship (#ASTF 687-2016), University of Wurzburg, Germany
• 2016 – 2016: Mobility program “Free mover”, University of Wurzburg, Germany

*Current funding

OUR RESEARCH

Cells need to know where they are and where to go.
We study planar cell polarity (PCP) — the way cells align and coordinate their behavior across a tissue.

Polarity is usually seen as a simple directional guide. 🧭 We think it does much more.

In short: we study how polarity proteins actively drive cell behavior, using Xenopus embryos and cell models to watch these processes in real time.

Keywords

Planar polarity, neural tube formation, cell migration, bioenergetics, Xenopus embryos.

OUR PAPERS

• Cell signaling in vertebrates (planar cell polarity signaling):
  
  • Radaszkiewicz KA, Radaszkiewicz TW, Kolářová P, Paclíková P, Gömöryová K, Novotná Š, Maia LA, Číhalová T, Le Y, Bárta T, Hanáková H, Hyšková A, Tripsianes K, Zdráhal Z, Winkler C, and Harnos J*.
    “PRICKLE3 protects VANGL proteins from CK1-mediated phosphorylation and RNF43-mediated degradation”.
    Commun Biol. 2025, doi: 10.1038/s42003-025-09422-9
  • Novotna S, Maia LA, Radaszkiewicz KA, Roudnicky P, and Harnos J*.
    “Linking planar polarity signaling to actomyosin contractility during vertebrate neurulation.”
    Open Biology, 2024, doi: 10.1098/rsob.240251
  • Radaszkiewicz KA, Sulcova M, Kohoutkova E, and Harnos J*.
    “The role of Prickle proteins in vertebrate development and pathogeny.”
    Molecular Cell Biochemistry, 2023, doi: 10.1007/s11010-023-04787-z
• New aspects of vertebrate development:
  
  • Riesova B, Maia LA, Hesova R, Peskova N, Marsalek P, Blahova J, Lakdawala P, and Harnos J*.
    “Developmental toxicity of fluconazole and 1,2,4-triazole in Xenopus laevis.”
    Scientific Reports, 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-30992-5
  • Laznovsky J, Kavkova M, Reis A, Robovska-Havelkova P, Maia LA, Krivanek J, Zikmund T, Kaiser J, Buchtova M, and Harnos J*.
    “Unveiling vertebrate development dynamics in Xenopus laevis using micro-CT imaging.”
    GigaScience, 2024, doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giae037
• Studying in-cell DNA quadruplex structures using Xenopus oocytes:
  
  • Foldynova-Trantirkova S, Harnos J, Rynes J, Zlinska V, and Trantirek L.
    “In-cell NMR spectroscopy of nucleic acids: Basic concepts, practical aspects, and applications.”
    Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, 2025, doi: 10.1016/j.pnmrs.2025.101560
  • Ghosh A, Harnos J, Stadlbauer P, Sponer J, Lenarcic Zivkovic M, and Trantirek L.
    “Structural basis of bis-quinolinium ligands binding to quadruplex-duplex hybrids from PIM1 oncogene.”
    Nucleic Acids Research, 2025, doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaf894
• New methodology of DNA cloning:
  
  • Paclikova P, and Harnos J*. “Efficient cloning of linear DNA inserts (ECOLI) into plasmids using site-directed mutagenesis.”
    Scientific Reports, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-72169-6