β‐Catenin (Armadillo in Drosophila) is a multitasking and evolutionary conserved molecule
that in metazoans exerts a crucial role in a multitude of developmental and homeostatic …

Wnt genes are important regulators of embryogenesis and cell differentiation in vertebrates
and insects. New data revealed by comparative genomics have now shown that members of …

The evolutionary origin of metazoan cell types such as neurons and muscles is not known.
Using whole-body single-cell RNA sequencing in a sponge, an animal without nervous …

Sponges (Porifera) are among the earliest evolving metazoans. Their filter-feeding body
plan based on choanocyte chambers organized into a complex aquiferous system is so …

Armadillo (ARM)-repeat proteins form a large family with diverse and fundamental functions
in many eukaryotes. ARM-repeat proteins have largely been characterised in multicellular …

The regulation of body axis specification in the common ancestor of bilaterians remains
controversial. BMP signaling appears to be an ancient program for patterning the secondary …

Systematics is nowadays facing new challenges with the introduction of new concepts and
new techniques. Compared to most other phyla, phylogenetic relationships among sponges …

The first animals arose more than six hundred million years ago, yet they left little impression
in the fossil record. Nonetheless, the cell biology and genome composition of the first …

Sponges (phylum Porifera) are a diverse taxon of benthic aquatic animals of great
ecological, commercial, and biopharmaceutical importance. They are arguably the earliest …

Wnt/β‐catenin signalling is known to play many roles in metazoan development and tissue
homeostasis. Misregulation of the pathway has also been linked to many human diseases …