Abstract: Pre-gastrulation embryogenesis, encompassing the initial lineage segregations, acquisition and consecutive loss of naïve pluripotency, anterior-posterior patterning, and the initiation of gastrulation via primitive streak formation, has been studied in much detail in mouse, human, and non-human primate embryos. However, our knowledge of the evolution of these processes across amniotes, especially reptiles, remains limited. Commonly, all reptiles are thought to follow chicken development, which is characterised by a two-dimensional flat disc at peri-gastrulation stages while mammalian embryogenesis is characterised by highly diverse 3-dimensional pre- and peri-gastrulation morphogenesis. These differential modes of embryogenesis may result in differential signalling requirements for embryonic patterning. Showcasing two lizard species, the brown anole and the veiled chameleon, I will describe pre-gastrulation development of non-avian reptiles revealing a massive variability of embryonic modes within reptiles. The variability in morphogenesis is mirrored in differential activation of signalling pathways exhibiting divergence in previously thought canonical patterning processes.

Bio: Dr Weberling (BSc & MSc Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) was awarded a PhD Fellowship of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Horizon 2020 International Training Network ImageInLife to complete her PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK, focussing on mouse and human embryogenesis at peri- and early post-implantation stages.
Following her PhD, Dr Weberling was awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford, to build up her independent research. She focusses on understanding early embryogenesis of non- or emerging model organisms of the amniote phylum. Gaining knowledge of  embryogenesis in the different families across the amniote phylogenetic tree will enable to carry out cross-species comparative studies to understand the degree of conservation of key developmental processes. For this, she established a global network of collaborators to access representative species of different amniote families. Besides her research, Dr Weberling is a writer and an artist. Her paintings and fine prints have featured in a number of exhibitions in Germany and Canada and her poetry has been published in numerous anthologies. Her first novel was published in October 2025 in Germany.