Tom Pettini

Neuronal excitability is permanently altered by activity manipulation during an embryonic critical period in Drosophila

The paper manipulates neuronal activity during an embryonic critical period in Drosophila and finds cell type-specific changes in intrinsic excitability that persist into larval development.

A toolkit for mapping cell identities in relation to neighbours reveals Notch-dependent heterogeneity within neuromesodermal progenitor populations

The paper introduces a toolkit to analyze cell identity patterning by comparing cells to their neighbors, revealing Notch-dependent heterogeneity in neuromesodermal progenitors.

piRNAs are abundant in the early embryo of the crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis

This study identifies and characterizes piRNAs in the early embryo of Parhyale hawaiensis, showing their abundance early in development and subsequent reduction after germ cell specification.

Mitochondrial ROS and HIF-1α signalling mediate critical period plasticity

The paper identifies mitochondrial ROS and HIF-1α signaling as critical for critical period plasticity in Drosophila.

Balance of Activity during a Critical Period Tunes a Developing Network

This study shows that balanced neural activity during a critical period is essential for normal circuit development, as imbalances lead to hyperexcitability and reduced network robustness.

The developmental transcriptome of Parhyale hawaiensis: microRNAs and mRNAs show different expression dynamics during the maternal-zygotic transition

The paper sequenced microRNAs and mRNAs in Parhyale hawaiensis during embryonic development, identifying new microRNA loci and showing distinct expression dynamics during the maternal-zygotic transition.

smiFISH and embryo segmentation for single-cell multi-gene RNA quantification in arthropods

The paper adapts smiFISH to arthropod embryos for multi-gene RNA quantification and introduces new variability measures for single-cell expression analysis.

Transvection and pairing of a Drosophila Hox long noncoding RNA in the regulation of Sex combs reduced

This study identifies a long noncoding RNA, lincX, from the Antennapedia Complex in Drosophila that facilitates Hox gene expression through transvection and chromosomal proximity.