There were multiple prerequisites to the evolution of multicellular animal life, including the
generation of multiple cell fates (" cellular diversity") and their patterned spatial arrangement …

Wnt signaling is crucial for embryonic development in all animal species studied to date. The
interaction between Wnt proteins and cell surface receptors can result in a variety of …

There is growing interest in the use of cnidarians (corals, sea anemones, jellyfish and
hydroids) to investigate the evolution of key aspects of animal development, such as the …

Intracellular targeting of mRNAs has long been recognized as a means to produce proteins
locally, but has only recently emerged as a prevalent mechanism used by a wide variety of …

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 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 …

Reverse genetics and next‐generation sequencing unlocked a new era in biology. It is now
possible to identify an animal (s) with the unique biology most relevant to a particular …

Regeneration is widespread throughout the animal kingdom, but our molecular
understanding of this process in adult animals remains poorly understood. Wnt/β-catenin …

The origin of the bilaterian head is a fundamental question for the evolution of animal body
plans. The head of bilaterians develops at the anterior end of their primary body axis and is …

Bilaterality–the possession of two orthogonal body axes–is the name-giving trait of all
bilaterian animals. These body axes are established during early embryogenesis and serve …