Freshly out at @natcomms.nature.com ! Our @univie.ac.at @awi.de @viennabiocenter.bsky.social @ercgrantees.bsky.social research into neurogenic plasticity of adult worm brains, and similarities in stem cells supporting growth of camera-type eyes. www.nature.com/articles/s41... [1/7]
We studied remodeling, development, and patterning of the nervous system in asexually reproducing annelids. The involvement of Pax6 in these processes is evolutionary conserved, despite the variability and evolution of the developmental trajectories. doi.org/10.3390/biol...
Really excited to present the results of a fantastic collaboration with Jesse Veenvliet @jesseveenvliet.bsky.social @mpi-cbg.de @poldresden.bsky.social π€©
We find a unique mechanism for body axis elongation in mammals, different from other vertebrate species
β‘οΈ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
What happens if your asexual reproduction goes wrong? For instance, you can grow a head instead of a tail. But if you're a flatworm, it's not that bad - as we showed in our newest paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: tinyurl.com/4dnp2ffz
How can we see the cells that make up a living organism? Membrane-localising tags can drive fluorescent proteins to the cell's outer membrane, making their outlines visible. But the tags don't work well in all organisms. How do you find one for your species of interest? π§΅
Check our latest preprint
π’ The First Circular for the 15th International Polychaete Conference (IPC15) is out! Join us in Frankfurt, Germany β’ 27β31 July 2026
#IPC15 #Polychaetes #Annelida
polychaete-association.com/ipc15-frankf...
So happy to see the cephalic furrow combo out back-to-back! This was a wonderful collaborative endeavor π₯Ή
Final version of our paper on ciliary metachronal waves out now in Science Advances! doi.org/10.1126/scia...
This is the main thesis work of my PhD student Rebecca Poon, who caught many #platnereis larvae and tirelessly ablated them with a laser. THREAD
Cell Proliferation and Morphogenetic Compartmentalization in the Phoronid Phoronopsis harmeri: Conserved and Derived Patterns https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.19.677378v1
New paper on the expression of the estrogen receptor in the marine polychaete, Capitella teleta!
Congrats to @andreamurillo.bsky.social on another paper from her PhD!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Great collaboration with the Seaver lab!
Evolutionβs eye game is wild, but mollusks take it to another level
CRISPR in apple snails gives us a new model to dissect how nature rebuilds complex organs like the camera-type eyes we humans possess
It turns out Evolution doesnβt just innovate, it rewinds, remixes, & regenerates
rdcu.be/ezw0t
Latest paper elifesciences.org/articles/107... closes an important cycle in our efforts to study regeneration: week-long recordings allow us to observe the behaviour of cells during the entire course of regeneration in a crustacean leg β bright objects in movie are fluorescent nuclei of cells. 1/6
Proud to present the peer-reviewed version of our Cell Type Allometry paper, out today in Science Advances!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Are animals of different sizes made of the same cell types?
Hereβs an update of the main points and revision items
(with memes!)
Thread ππ§΅
Job Alert! We are recruiting one postdoc to work on spiralian embryos and their crazy polar lobes. More info about this HFSP-funded position on our website baronelab.org: scroll to the end, click on "this could be you"...start your adventure!
Comparative Regeneration Dynamics of Platynereis dumerilii and Pygospio elegans (Annelida): Morphological and Cellular Events doi.org/10.1002/jez....
Unexpected role of Ξ²-catenin signaling in germ layer specification
In this 'Show and tell' post, @genikhovich.bsky.social and @tclebedeva.bsky.social tell us about their video of a GFP-Ξ²-catenin knock-in Nematostella embryo from their latest paper:
π₯ thenode.biologists.com/unexpected-r...
Paper alert! We are a little late but very proud of the team's latest study on the neurogenic functions of the Notch signalling pathway during #regeneration and posterior elongation in #platynereis. @ijmonod.bsky.social @cnrsbiologie.bsky.social @upcite.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New insight on gonad morphogenesis ! Our new paper reveals how germ & somatic cells interact through TGF-Beta feedback loop to drive gonad morphogenesis in Hydractinia.
Check out the full paper in Science Advances !
tinyurl.com/245rw699
Happy to present the peer-reviewed version of our Hydractinia Cell Atlas paper out today in Nature Communications! As I presented this back when we were in βthat otherβ social network, let me recap the basic findings and revision items in this thread:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The revised version of our #Platynereis #connectome paper is now out:
https://elifesciences.org/reviewed-preprints/97964
Cell-type-level annotation of the whole organisms, including synaptic and desmosomal connectomes. Can be explored with CATMAID here [β¦]
[Original post on biologists.social]
Micrognathozoa, or βlittle jaw animalsβ, are one of the ~32 evolutionarily independent lineages on the animal tree of life. This phylum contains some of the smallest animals reaching a maximum size of 150Β΅m. Populations are found in Greenland, the Pyrenees Mountains, and a Subantarctic island. Despite this disjoint distribution, there is currently only one described species, Limnognathia maerski. After almost a decade of collecting effort, the Katrine Worsaae group here at BIO, UCPH, joining teams from USA, UK, France, and Spain, was able to collect samples from all three populations. With this new material, using advanced microscopy, single-cell transcriptomic techniques, and machine learning, we interrogate the relationships among populations, test species limits, and infer their biogeographic history for the first time. Although we find no morphological differences, genetic data distinguish the Subantarctic population as a separate species, here named Limnognathia desmeti. The distribution of this old freshwater phylum, Micrognathozoa, can only be explained by overseas dispersal which raises questions about potential dormant life stages and undiscovered populations.
Our paper describing the second species of Micrognathozoa, Limnognathia desmeti, is out: doi.org/10.1098/rspb... - big thanks to all coauthors, to Willem H. De Smet for finding this species, and to the Villum Foundation a.o. for supporting this project!
The results of our study suggest involvement of ParaHox genes in whole-body patterning and/or in tissue remodeling during growth and asexual reproduction in annelids, and may be evidence of the functional diversification of duplicated genes. doi.org/10.3390/gene...
If you like snowflakes, check our new preprint about axial patterning in brittle stars β
We looked at the expression of anteroposterior patterning genes in Amphipholis squamata juveniles, and compared it with existing data from other classes
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
@lowelab.bsky.social
Society for Developmental Biology logo Society for Developmental Biology 2025 Award Winners Edwin G. Conklin Medal Headshot of Blanche Capel Blanche Capel, Duke University Developmental Biology-Society for Developmental Biology Lifetime Achievement Award Headshot of Billie Swalla Billie Swalla, University of Washington Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize Headshot of Erica Crespi Erica Crespi, Washington State University Elizabeth D. Hay New Investigator Award Headshot of Mubarek Syed Mubarak Syed, The University of New Mexico Society for Developmental Biology Trainee Science Communication Award Headshot of Joaquin Navajas Acedo Joaquin Navajas Acedo, Biozentrum at University of Basel
Congrats to the 2025 SDB Award Winners!
Conklin Medal: Blanche Capel
DB-SDB Lifetime Achievement Award: Billie Swalla
Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize: Erica Crespi
Hay New Investigator Award: Mubarak Syed
SDB Trainee Science Communication Award: Joaquin Navajas Acedo
bit.ly/4bcrFap
In our study, we have shown that sexually reproducing annelids are able to establish germ cells and become fully sexually mature. We also have discovered that asexual propagation and germ cell/gonadal development/maturation are not mutually exclusive. doi.org/10.3390/jdb1...
Octo-squid-nautiloid sex chromosomes!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Origin of the primordial germ cells in annelids: a combination of inherited cytoplasmic determinants, followed by inductive processes? Germ Line/Multipotency Genes Show Differential Expression during Embryonic Development of the Annelid Enchytraeus coronatus www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12...
We looked into details of the stem cell system of catenulids. Surprisingly, it was very different from the canonical neoblast-based systems of other flatworms. What does it tell about the evolution of stem cells and regeneration? Check in our latest paper in @naturecomms.bsky.social:
bit.ly/3WK2ZzR
Our article on Platynereisβ #StemCells and #regeneration is out! Kudos to @chrisruta, and @biyolokum and our amazing collaborators @alexwstockinger, @Adelmann_L in @FRKT_labs. The transgenics work was carried out at @IJMonod, and transcriptomics at @MaxPerutzLabs. doi.org/10.1038/s414...
Our phoronida paper is out: Digestive System Development and Posterior Hox/Parahox Gene Expression During Larval Life and Metamorphosis of the Phoronid Phoronopsis harmeri onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
