I’m thrilled to share that our search for a tenure-track colleague in my *truly wonderful and collegial* Genetics, Genomics, Evolution and Development Division in the MCB Department at Berkeley @berkeleymcb.bsky.social is live! Please share this broad search widely: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05481

Assistant Professor -Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development - Molecular and Cell Biology

University of California, Berkeley is hiring. Apply now!

aprecruit.berkeley.edu

A new-found Cambrian soft-bodied biota immediately after the Sinsk Event, the first mass-extinction crisis of the Phanerozoic - paper in @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A Cambrian soft-bodied biota after the first Phanerozoic mass extinction - Nature

The Huayuan biota exhibits extraordinary biodiversity, illuminating the impact of the Phanerozoic mass extinction around 513 million years ago and offering critical insights into the transformation of...

nature.com

Sailing in @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social ready for summer, our study on the iconic Portuguese man o' war 🪼 is out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6.... We use (epi)genomics to understand a critter that fascinates me since childhood. Massive team effort with @obog.bsky.social, Cummins and Neely groups. 🧵

We're pleased to announce that the DBSUMI XXIX abstract submission deadline has been extended to July 31! If you're interested in developmental biology, evolution, or marine invertebrates, we'd love to see your work! More information: www.dbsumi.com/dbsumi-xxix-... #DBSUMI #DevBio #MarineBiology

1/ The world's songbirds sing in just 8 basic sounds. And where a bird lives decides which ones it uses. My first PhD paper is out now in @science.org (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee6239) Here is what we found:

We are recruiting a postdoc to explore how corals evolved coloniality, novel cell types, and photosymbiosis using single-cell and genomic approaches. Based at Academia Sinica, Taipei. More: sgel.biodiv.tw

Our News & Views article “Body-plan organizer in comb jellies hints at animal ancestry” now published in @nature.com 🎉 We discuss fascinating work revealing organizer activity in comb jellies & the evolution of animal development. rdcu.be/fsLWq @ruthstyfhals.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

I'm recruiting a postdoc and a research assistant in my lab in the south of France for an HFSP-funded project involving choanos. More info: Postdoc: bit.ly/4xxlJTX Research assistant: (EN) bit.ly/4aOwUha (FR) bit.ly/4vcy3av Please share with any potential applicant. Thx!

Embryonic ‘organizer cells’ can tell embryos of various phyla what kind of body to build go.nature.com/4vnO1ig

Cell transplant across the tree of life hints at how animals emerged

Embryonic ‘organizer cells’ can tell embryos of various phyla what kind of body to build.

go.nature.com

MBE is excited to launch our newest Call for Papers on the Major Transitions of Life, covering all aspects of phylogenomic research. 🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/pages/call-for-papers-on-the-major-transitions-of-life Guest Editors: Davide Pisani Anja Spang #evobio #molbio #phylogenetics

Hox #genes from 40 xenacoelomorph transcriptomes and four #genomes academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...

Patterns of Conservation and Loss of Hox Genes in Xenacoelomorph Lineage Since Divergence From Last Common Bilaterian Ancestor

Abstract. The explosion of body forms found in bilaterians is thought to be tied to the diversification of Hox transcription factors, which play a critical

academic.oup.com

🚨 We discovered a new mode of Hox gene regulation in annelids! 🪱 A distal enhancer acts as a "global control region", lifting Hox genes from Polycomb repression. This is reminiscent of Hox gene control in vertebrates, but the two modes likely evolved convergently. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Convergent evolution of cluster-wide Hox gene regulation in Bilateria https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.18.725834v1

New funding opportunity from the Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative. We’re inviting teams of two researchers to pursue ambitious, high-risk projects advancing aquatic symbiosis (marine + freshwater). Open globally. Details + how to apply:  moore.org/SymbiosisRFP #RFP #AquaticSymbiosis

90% of you probably don’t need to read this. But maybe some of you are curious & 10% will feel seen. Or a little less alone. This isn’t about seeking sympathy. It’s about sharing something hard to say out loud; partly to heal, partly in case someone needs to hear it too. (1/3) tinyurl.com/DudinO

Omaya Dudin

Interview with Omaya Dudin, who uses Ichthyosporea as models to study how and why unicellular organisms evolved multicellularity at the University of Geneva.

cell.com

First neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E @jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution

Nature Reviews Neuroscience - Recent studies have shed further light on the evolutionary origins of chemical synapses, In this Review, Colgren and Burkhardt explore how ancient proteins were...

rdcu.be

Pleased to share our study on brachiopod genomes and bilaterian dorsal–ventral patterning, now out in Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s414... We present the first chromosome-level genome of a brachiopod and show that the core patterning mechanism is deeply conserved across bilaterians.

Brachiopod genome unveils the evolution of BMP signalling in bilaterian body patterning - Nature Communications

A chromosome-level brachiopod genome reveals deep conservation of BMP-mediated dorsal–ventral patterning and neural inhibition, suggesting the spiralian ancestor retained the ancestral mechanism in bi...

doi.org

Thrilled to present our comparative study on the evolution of zygotic genome activation (ZGA)!! 🥚🧬 Amazing PhD work of @campobes.bsky.social together with @fedemantica.bsky.social and many collaborators! @melisupf.bsky.social @crg.eu. Thread below 1/15 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📢 Call for papers - Symbiotic relationships 📢 #BMCBiology Guest Editors: @yjluo.bsky.social @schwarzergnoto.bsky.social Thomas Bosch Dr rer nat, Kiel University Anil Kumar PhD, Chandigarh University Michael Sinvula Lukubwe BA, MSc, University of Namibia link.springer.com/collections/...

Final version @nature.com of our paper describing unconventional multicellular development in a choanoflagellate inhabiting an extreme environment. A ton of new data since the first @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social preprint (which we've kept updating). A brief 🧵 (carried over from the old place)

Nature Portfolio@natureportfolio.nature.com · 7mo ago

A study in Nature shows that the single-celled form of a tiny, aquatic organism can turn into a multicellular version by three different routes. The discovery adds insight to the possible origins of multicellular life, suggesting a previously unrecognized degree of flexibility. 🧪

New paper out in MBE! 🧵 "Genomic Perplexity and the Evolution of Context-Dependent Function" The big idea: genes don't have fixed functions. Function emerges from context - genomic, cellular, environmental. And we can quantify this. academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

Genomic Perplexity and the Evolution of Context-Dependent Function

Abstract. The fundamental principle that selection acts on a gene’s function often assumes implicitly that this function is fixed and intrinsic. However, e

academic.oup.com

Registration now open for @embo.org workshop on the evolution of biological interactions on April 24 - 27, 2026! Come join us in Taipei, Taiwan to see how interactions shaped the genomes of various organisms and meeting people from across the globe. Info: meetings.embo.org/event/26-bio...

Happy New Year! あけましておめでとうございます！新年快樂！Feliz Año Nuevo! Manigong Bagong Taon! The SymGenoEvo Lab wishes everyone a wonderful New Year!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU!🎄✨

#ArtAdventCalendar Gel Electrophoresis in Green and Blue, watercolor, 2023 #sciart

Can't believe my postdoc paper is finally out. Christmas came early this year, holy moly 🎄 Molecular basis for de novo thymus regeneration in a vertebrate, the axolotl | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Molecular basis for de novo thymus regeneration in a vertebrate, the axolotl

The molecular, cellular, and functional restoration of the axolotl thymus after de novo regeneration is described.

science.org

This is an INCREDIBLE advance in our understanding of coral diversification. 🪸🎉 Fantastic new work led by @claudiavaga.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A global coral phylogeny reveals resilience and vulnerability through deep time - Nature

The most recent common ancestor of the stony coral Scleractinia dates to about 460 million years ago and was probably a solitary, heterotrophic and free-living organism.

nature.com

Very happy to announce that our article in multimodal single cell analyses in planaria is out in Nature Communications @natcomms.nature.com ! Thank you very much to everyone that made this work possible. I am very happy to see it out (: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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

Honor to join the EMBO Young Investigator Network as a Global Investigator! Very grateful to @embo.org for the support in promoting international exchanges. Excited to strengthen collaborations with colleagues across Europe and beyond. www.embo.org/press-releas...