Fabian Rentzsch

A light-entrained clock mechanism in a hydrozoan jellyfish synchronizes evening gamete release Jellyfish rely on light cues to help coordinate the timing of their gamete release. By characterizing a new species of jellyfish, this study reveals an additional autonomous circadian mechanism that s...

Now out in PLOS Biology- a novel clock mechanism regulating spawining in a newly-identified Clytia species
: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

Top: The phylogenetic position of Nematostella and localization of Vasa2 +/Piwi1+ cells within the juvenile polyp body plan. (A) Simplified phylogenetic tree highlighting the phylogenetic position of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis and other animal taxa relevant for this study. All animal silhouettes are licensed under CC0,1.0 Universal Public domain and taken from https://www.phylopic.org. (B–D) Schematics showing the localization of Vasa2+/Piwi1+ cells in a juvenile polyp, depicted in longitudinal (B) or cross-section (C, D). (E) Schematic representation of the multipotent, Vasa2+/Piwi1+ stem/progenitor cell population and a simplified summary of their germinal and somatic progeny. (F) Schematics of cell cycle phases, highlighting the incorporation of EdU during S-phase (black line) and the phosphorylation of Histone H3 (pH3+) during metaphase. Bottom: Confocal image of two Vasa+/Piwi+ stem-like cells in the inner epithelial folds of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Immunolabelling of mOrange2-Piwi1 fusion protein (yellow) in a transgenic knock-in line combined with nuclear stain (white). Image credit: Paula Miramón-Puértolas.

How do animals with lifelong growth modulate cell #proliferation? @eudaldpascual.bsky.social @ktgarschall.bsky.social @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social show that starvation induces G1/G0 #CellCycle arrest in Vasa2+/Piwi1+ #SeaAnemone cells; cycle re-entry is TOR-dependent @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48J2o6P

Cells can form patterns within themselves just like embryos do. How? Connie Yan's new preprint shows how the anterior-posterior cytoskeleton pattern in Stentor is dictated by regionalized scaffolding proteins

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

An ancient anthozoan protein reveals an alternative evolutionary path of antiviral signaling How antiviral immunity first arose in animals is a central question in evolutionary biology. Using the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, we identify CARDIB, a previously uncharacterized gene located...

1/5
🚨🚨 preprint alert! 🚨🚨
I wish to introduce CARDIB, not the singer, but the protein.
CARDIB=CARD Inhibitory Binding protein.
In our new work we discover this antiviral protein that is found in all Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals 🪸) but not in other animals.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Separation of the Early gastrula into oral and aboral halves shows that some neural cell tupes derive from aboral ectoderm, and others from i-cells

Drawing together findings from several projects over many years, we make a case that neural cell types in the Clytia larva have two embryological origins: i-cells and ectodermal.
bioRxiv 2025.11.17.688882; doi: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Very nice study on the control of pulsation in a coral, combining surgical and molecular approaches.
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Neuroendocrine control of intestinal regeneration through the vascular niche in Drosophila Adult intestinal plasticity and tissue repair involves complex and reciprocal multicellular interactions. Medina, Perochon, et al. report a signaling axis between hormone-producing cells in the intest...

Congrats @corderolab.bsky.social‬ !!

Neuroendocrine control of intestinal regeneration through the vascular niche in Drosophila: Developmental Cell www.cell.com/developmenta...

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone Via genetic ablation of neurons, Mazloumi Gavgani et al. show that the nervous system is essential for defining axial polarity during whole-body regeneration in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.

Our paper on the role of neurons in Nematostella head regeneration is now out at @currentbiology.bsky.social Big thank you to all collaborators, it was a pleasure!

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Volume rendering of the ctenophore aboral organ reconstructed by volume EM, showing the gravisensory balancers and the four quadrants.

In our new preprint we describe the synaptic #connectome of the nerve net in the ctenophore gravisensory organ. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.26.661250v1 #biology #neuroscience #ctenophore #vEM

I am looking for a new postdoc to join the lab. Interested in pluripotency, germ cells, and in investigating these in a genetically tractable cnidarian? Get in touch! We offer a long-term contract, excellent research environment, and a lovely city #Galway. www.urifranklab.org

The 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ and the evolution of complex integrative centers in animals The ability to sense and respond to environmental cues is fundamental to animal behavior and survival. In ctenophores - early-branching marine animals - a syncytial nerve net underlies complex behavio...

Beautiful description of a ctenophore apical organ from @annaferraioli.bsky.social, @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social and @maikekittelmann.bsky.social. It will be exciting to learn more about its development!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Anoctamins mediate polymodal sensory perception and larval metamorphosis in a non-vertebrate chordate Liang et al. report that Ano5 and Ano6 are required for sensing and responding to mechanical and chemical cues that mediate larval settlement and metamorphosis in the invertebrate chordate Ciona intes...

Congratulations Zonglai, @hoyerjorgen.bsky.social & @mchatzigeorgiou.bsky.social 👏

Read the full article ⤵️

My group is hiring a new Postdoc to work on gene regulation and chromatin in Nematostella. Please RT!
For more information see here:
gahanlab.com
tinyurl.com/34xke35d

Great opportunity for a post-doc to join the University of Galway in the research team of our committee member @jgahan.bsky.social!

Support Ukraine!

A dendritic guidance receptor functions in both ligand dependent and independent modes The formation of an appropriately shaped dendritic arbor is critical for a neuron to receive information. Dendritic morphogenesis is a dynamic process involving growth, branching, and retraction. How ...

Beautiful work on dendrite development. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Sea anemones track the suns position?! 🤯 So thrilled to share our paper is finally published in @J_Exp_Biol! 🎉
Congrats to my student leads Eliska Lintnerova and Callum Shawn.
Check it out: journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Communications (Stem Cell and Developmental Biology) Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Communications (Stem Cell and Developmental Biology) Location(s): New York, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Berlin or Heidelberg Application Deadline: About Spring...

My team @naturecomms.bsky.social is looking for a new editor! We need someone to help handle all of the awesome #stemcell and #devbio papers we're getting. DM me if you're interested or have questions about the role or interview process.
springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Marie Curie, Physicist and chemist.

Today is International Day of Women & Girls in Science.

Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Her contributions have left an indelible mark on the world of science & health & continue to inspire generations of scientists & innovators. 🔬 #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM

Join us tomorrow for this exciting line up.

The evolution of shape diversity through the lens of physics—explored in our new paper! A fruitful collaboration between our lab @EMBL, Salbreux’s lab @unige & others, led by @BailleulRichar1—now independent at @ENS_ULM—& Nicolas Cuny. bit.ly/3WRqdEa

Measuring morphogen transport over multiple spatial scales in live zebrafish embryos https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.06.636788v1

New preprint from the lab on #coral larval light responses, including ciliary arrests and body-wide contractions.

Led by Emelie Brodrick, in collaboration with @micromotility.bsky.social

#biology #cilia @ERC_Research
#hfsp https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.06.636794v1

Ectopic head regeneration after nervous system ablation in a sea anemone Some animals are able to regenerate all missing cell types and large body parts after bisection, a phenomenon called whole-body regeneration. Many of these animals regenerate the correct tissues and s...

We posted our surprising finding that removal of the nervous system in Nematostella always leads to the regeneration of a second head.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

1/4 🚨 a brand new @biorxiv preprint from the lab! We charcterized both transcriptionally, morphologically and functionally (phagocytosis) immune cells from #Nematostella! We are convinced that our data supports the existence of such specialized cells! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Molecular dynamics of the matrisome across sea anemone life history The evolutionary expansion of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules has been crucial for the establishment of cell adhesion and the transition from unicellular to multicellular life. Members of the pre...

Characterization of the extracellular matrix in Nematostella. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...