There is currently little information about the evolution of gene clusters, genome
architectures and karyotypes in early branching animals. Slowly evolving anthozoan …

The assembly of the neuronal and other major cell type programs occurred early in animal
evolution. We can reconstruct this process by studying non-bilaterians like placozoans …

In many developing tissues, the patterns of gene expression that assign cell fate are
organized by graded secreted signals. Cis-regulatory elements (CREs) interpret these …

Stem cells are a hallmark of animal multicellularity. Sox and POU transcription factors are
associated with stemness and were believed to be animal innovations, reported absent in …

In animals, stem cell populations of varying potency facilitate regeneration and tissue
homeostasis. Notably, germline stem cells in both vertebrates and invertebrates express …

Over the past decade, single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) has made it possible to
study the cellular diversity of a broad range of organisms. Technological advances in single …

Animals are typically composed of hundreds of different cell types, yet mechanisms
underlying the emergence of new cell types remain unclear. Here we address the origin and …

Draft genome sequences of non-bilaterian species have provided important insights into the
evolution of the metazoan gene repertoire. However, there is little information about the …

The evolutionary transition from diffusion-mediated cell-cell communication to faster,
targeted synaptic signaling in animal nervous systems is still unclear. Genome sequencing …

Among non-bilaterian animals, a larval apical sensory organ with integrated neurons is only
found in cnidarians. Within cnidarians, an apical organ with a ciliary tuft is mainly found in …