Sergio Vargas

The paper evaluates the robustness of multispecies coalescent methods for species delimitation in taxonomically complex systems using Mediterranean Tethya sponges, finding that hypothesis-testing approaches are more reliable than heuristic ones.

The paper shows ecological filtering, not coevolution, better predicts microbiome composition in marine sponges, using phylogenetic and trait-based analyses.

The paper identifies gene expression patterns and regulatory mechanisms in the calcareous sponge Sycon ciliatum that parallel those in stony corals, suggesting convergent evolution in biomineralization.

The paper examines genomic changes in 22 congeneric animal species pairs, finding varied synteny conservation patterns and no universal genomic change path during speciation.

This study shows that losing a key microbial symbiont in sponges leads to body plan reorganization and transcriptomic changes, linking microbiome state to host development.

The paper introduces a hybrid-capture strategy for rRNA depletion in demosponge metatranscriptomes to better study host-microbe interactions.

The paper identifies 18 cell types in sponges, including neuroid cells with synaptic gene expression, suggesting early neuro-immune system evolution.

This paper uses taxogenomics to identify a new genus and species in Placozoa based on genome comparisons.

The paper characterizes mitochondrial mRNA processing in octocorals with a single tRNA gene, revealing complex transcription units and regulatory mechanisms.

A 125-megabase draft genome of the contractile demosponge Tethya wilhelma reveals extensive lineage-specific expansions, losses, and domain rearrangements across early metazoan neural signaling gene families.

The paper sequences and analyzes the complete mitochondrial genomes of two gorgonians, identifying phylogenetic relationships among octocoral species.