Ruibao's first paper from the lab is out in @nature.com . www.nature.com/articles/s41.... Collab with @multicellgenome.bsky.social & @jennahed.bsky.social. How did cells stick together and form the first animals? The protist Ministeria suggests cellular aggregation had a role. @iuqcb.bsky.social

A unicellular relative links aggregative multicellularity to animal origins - Nature

Aggregative multicellularity was key to the evolution of the multicellular animal genetic toolkit.

nature.com

Did cell types exist before animals? What if the first cell types evolved before the first animals? We'll use #ichthyosporeans, tiny microbes with the potential to reshape how we think about animal origins. #ProtistsOnSKy @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es 🧵

Most people have never heard of #apusomonads. Yet these tiny protists occupy an important position in the eukaryotic tree of life. And we know so little about them! We're looking for a Master's student to help uncover their hidden diversity. #ProtistsOnSky 🧵 @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org

1/7 Really interesting new preprint by Mannsåker et al. on the evolution of TRP channels in #choanoflagellates. But what caught my attention wasn't simply the diversity of these sensory receptors. It was something more general about how biological innovation may arise. 🧵 #protistsOnSky

Pawel Burkhardt@pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

How ancient are the building blocks of animal sensory systems? Key components of animal sensory systems evolved before animals. We find that choanoflagellates possess diverse & spatially segregated TRP channels, pointing to ancient origins of sensory specialization. doi.org/10.64898/202...

Thank you for the invitation @embldbunit.bsky.social and the stimulating discussions. I left with many new ideas, more questions to explore, and the feeling that we share an appreciation for exploring the unknown!

EMBL DB unit@embldbunit.bsky.social · 4w ago

Huge thanks to Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo for opening our Developmental Biology series 26/27 @embl.org. Iñaki showed us how studying our closest unicellular relatives is reshaping what we know about animal origins and why exploring the unknown is key to any field. We couldn't have asked for a better start! 🦠

1/2 Embryonic organizers, a group of cells that can coordinate the behaviour of many others. have been viewed as one of the true innovations of animals. Fascinating new paper @kremnyovs.bsky.social @hejnol.bsky.social @genikhovich.bsky.social et al. now reports organizer activity in #ctenophores.

Nature@nature.com · 2mo ago

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

Do you have interesting protist research that you want to publish? Now is a great time to consider The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. But don't just take our word for it, check out some of our latest metrics! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1550... #protistsonsky

Can a single cell behave like a Bayesian agent? In this new paper by @maorknak.bsky.social, E Casacuberta & @multicellgenome.bsky.social show that eukaryotic cells trained with reliable cues survived stress better by using Bayesian guesses @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social journals.aps.org/prxlife/pdf/...

1/3 Cell adhesion is considered one of the foundations of animal #multicellularity. Yet whether #ctenophores possess a functional cadherin–catenin complex has remained surprisingly controversial. A new study revisits that question. 🧵 @ctenophoresrock.bsky.social

Molecular Biology and Evolution@molbioevol.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Guttieres et al. suggest that core molecular interactions of the cadherin–catenin complex are conserved in ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, suggesting this was an ancestral trait foundational to the evolution of multicellular animals. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag123 #evobio #molbio

1/9 For years, debates about microbial biogeography have sometimes been framed as a choice. Either microorganisms are everywhere. Or geography matters. But what if that is a false choice? @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @icreacommunity.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es #protistsOnSKy

1/7 We often picture eukaryogenesis as a symbiosis between two lineages: an archaeal host & the ancestor of mitochondria. But what if the origin of eukaryotes emerged within a much more complex microbial ecosystem? A fascinating study from @tonigabaldon.bsky.social et al. explores exactly this. 🧵

Toni Gabaldón@tonigabaldon.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our paper "Gene ancestries reveal diverse microbial associations during eukaryogenesis.” is finally out in Nature. Eukaryogenesis was likely a gradual process shaped by multiple microbial partners and virus-mediated gene transfer, rather than a single binary symbiosis. doi.org/10.1038/s415...

1/10 For decades, cellular aggregation was considered an evolutionary dead end. Cells could come together temporarily. But complex multicellular organisms like animals? Our study, led by JP Gerdt, with Ruibao & @jennahed.bsky.social suggests it may be time to rethink that🧵 #ProtistsOnSKy

Congratulations to both @gautamdey.bsky.social & @dudinlab.bsky.social on receiving the EMBO Gold Medal 2026. A wonderful recognition for their work at the interface of cell an evolutionary biology. Wishing them continued success.

EMBO@embo.org · 2mo ago

Congratulations to Gautam Dey (EMBL) and Omaya Dudin (University of Geneva) for being awarded the EMBO Gold Medal 2026 in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the #LifeSciences in Europe! 🧪 https://www.embo.org/press-releases/embo-gold-medal-2026-awarded-to-gautam-dey-and-omaya-dudin/

Cool special issue on plant evolution just dropped at @currentbiology.bsky.social our 2 cents: Fruits of tons of fun discussions with the one and only Susana Coelho: www.cell.com/current-biol... Reflections on evolution of auxin response with @jorgehg.bsky.social : www.cell.com/current-biol...

#ProtistsOnSky

Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo@multicellgenome.bsky.social · 2mo ago

1/11 When we think about learning, we think about brains. Neurons.
Animals. But what if learning began much earlier? Our paper in PRXLife, led by @maorknak.bsky.social explores whether a unicell relative of animals can use environmental cues to anticipate future stress. 🧵 Link: go.aps.org/4vAU56R

1/11 When we think about learning, we think about brains. Neurons.
Animals. But what if learning began much earlier? Our paper in PRXLife, led by @maorknak.bsky.social explores whether a unicell relative of animals can use environmental cues to anticipate future stress. 🧵 Link: go.aps.org/4vAU56R

1/11 New review by Dey, Ganter & Jacobovitz on multinucleation across eukaryotes. A synthesis of a cellular organization that is far more widespread & evolutionarily relevant than we often acknowledge. #protistsOnSky More importantly, it signals something we have been hoping to see for years. 🧵

Gautam Dey@gautamdey.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Multinucleate cells challenge deeply-held assumptions about complexity, ecological success and evolution. Postdoc extraordinaire and gifted writer @mrosjac.bsky.social tackles this subject with aplomb - tell us what you think! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @currentbiology.bsky.social

New #ISEPpapers by @deemteam.bsky.social! Reversal to osmotrophy in eukaryotes www.nature.com/articles/s41... "Distant eukaryotic lineages convergently reverted from predation to osmotrophy through co-option of bacterial genes and their mobilization via eukaryote-to-eukaryote HGT" #Protists

/9 Interesting new paper by Kasalo, Domazet-Lošo et al. on amino acid biosynthesis & animal origins. Some of the most energetically expensive amino acids became "outsourced" during early animal evolution rather than synthesized internally. #protistsOnSky 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Outsourcing of energetically costly amino acids at the origin of animals - Nature Communications

Animals must obtain half of their amino acids from the diet, influencing their evolution and metabolism. This study suggests that energy pressures favored this outsourcing, enabling proteins to evolve...

nature.com

1/8 Inside your body lies something ancient. Our @pnas.org paper uncovers the deep unicellular prehistory of blood cell types. See paper and video. @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @icreacommunity.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es @csicdivulga.bsky.social pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

1/5 A fascinating new #ctenophore preprint 🧵 Ferraioli et al. uncover a “ladder-like” neural architecture in the living comb jelly Mnemiopsis and connect it to preserved neuroanatomical traces in Cambrian fossils. But the real importance isn’t the anatomy. It’s what the anatomy implies.

Pawel Burkhardt@pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A fossil nervous system meets modern neurobiology. We found that a living comb jelly preserves neural architecture remarkably similar to those inferred from Cambrian fossils over 500 million years old 🤩. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New paper published on symbiosis between sponges: doi.org/10.1093/jeb/... #Porifera #Mitochondria

Hidden in plain sight: a novel symbiotic haplosclerid sponge species revealed by its mitochondrial genome

Abstract. Sponges (phylum Porifera) are known to form symbiotic relationships with a variety of organisms, including other sponges. Recently, such symbiosi

doi.org

Our co-PI Elena as one of the invited speakers of this complexity day 2026 in @ceabcsic.bsky.social in Blanes!Looking forward discussing #complexity #coordination and #behaviour

Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC)@ceabcsic.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The #ComplexitatDay2026 is now underway 🚀 Today and tomorrow, #CEAB hosts the XIII Complexitat Day by #ComplexitatCAT, bringing together researchers on complex systems 🧠🌱 A great space to share the latest in complexity science!

I'm looking for an enthusiastic student to join my team as a PhD candidate on archaeal genome evolution 🦠💻 Work in beautiful Utrecht, at @binfutrecht.bsky.social, an international group full of caring, amazing scientists, and with frequent cake breaks! www.uu.nl/en/organisat... Please share! 🙏

Amazing to see so much data on Hox genes in #Xenacoelomoprhs! Showing great clade-specific Hox variation and providing insights on the possible ancestral state and evolution of the xenacoelomorph Hox complement. Congrats Ulf, Joseph @yannbuck.bsky.social @saabalde.bsky.social #evolution

Genome Biology and Evolution@genomebiolevol.bsky.social · 3mo ago

@yannbuck.bluesky.social et al. show that Hox gene variability between xenacoelomorphs and other bilaterians reflects selective retention of ancestral Hox content rather than affinity to either deuterostomes or protostomes. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag094 📷 Ulf Jondelius #genome #evolution

1(9 Great preprint from @wcratcliff.bsky.social @elibbyscience.bsky.social on obligate multicellularity and collective adaptation in snowflake yeast. Thought-provoking results! But I think the paper also highlights a deeper conceptual issue in the #multicellularity field. Let me explain:

Will Ratcliff@wcratcliff.bsky.social · 3mo ago

1/35 New preprint! We show that obligate multicellularity removes fundamental population genetic barriers to multicellular adaptation. Even a brief unicellular phase can dramatically constrain the evolution of beneficial multicellular traits. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

📢ERCs! Consider joining us! With @jgahan.bsky.social we have organized a @biologists.bsky.social workshop to discuss the origin of animal cell differentiation. Tons of invited speakers! see below! Looking forward to it!

The Company of Biologists@biologists.bsky.social · 3mo ago

ECRs - there is one month left to apply for a funded place at our Workshop on Rethinking Cell Differentiation and Development: A Unicellular Perspective, organised by Elena Casacuberta & James Gahan jgahan.bsky.social More at biologists.com/workshops/de... #BiologistsWorkshops Deadline: 12 June

New paper alert! Led by David Montagnes, this one is for scientists and non-scientists alike. The history, benefits, and future of Learned Societies. We need community, fostering of critical thinking, and communication, more than ever! link.springer.com/article/10.1... #protistsonsky

The value of learned societies in the biological sciences: benefits, threats, and futures - BMC Biology

Learned societies play a vital role in fostering interactions that are important in scholarly discourse and the advancement of biological sciences. However, they now face threats from declining fundin...

link.springer.com

What started as weird, unknown organisms became tools for the field. Establishing new models; creating community. #multicellularity #ichthyosporeans #protistsOnSky @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @icreacommunity.bsky.social @csicdivulga.bsky.social @csic.es

Is a net growth advantage necessary for #multicellularity? We often assume groups must outperform single cells locally. But @ctarnita & colleagues show that spatial heterogeneity can drive this transition via indirect benefits www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Direct benefits are not necessary for the evolution of multicellularity - Nature Ecology & Evolution

A model for the evolution of multicellularity in a spatially heterogeneous environment shows that indirect mechanisms such as escape from competition and increased environmental exploitation can drive...

nature.com