Athula H. Wikramanayake

Alizarin red perturbs skeletal patterning and biomineralization via Catalase inhibition

This study shows Alizarin Red S causes skeletal and nervous system defects in embryos by inhibiting catalase, leading to increased reactive oxygen species.

PFAS Compounds PFOA and Gen X are Teratogenic to Sea Urchin Embryos

This study shows that both PFOA and Gen X, two PFAS compounds, are teratogenic to sea urchin embryos, with Gen X causing more severe developmental effects.

β-catenin localization in the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi suggests an ancestral role in cell adhesion and nuclear function

The paper uses antibodies to study β-catenin localization in Mnemiopsis leidyi embryos, finding it at cell-cell interfaces and in nuclei, suggesting ancestral roles in adhesion and transcription.

Functional analysis of the Nematostella Wnt/β-catenin destruction complex provides insight into the evolution of a critical regulatory module in a major metazoan signal transduction pathway

The paper investigates the evolution of the Wnt/β-catenin destruction complex in Nematostella vectensis, showing it functions similarly to bilaterians despite lacking conserved domains, suggesting an ancestral low-affinity binding mechanism.

A dual role for Axin in establishing the anterior-posterior axis in the early sea urchin embryo

This study investigates Axin's role in inhibiting Wnt signaling in sea urchin embryos to regulate anterior-posterior axis patterning, showing that Axin's interaction with GSK-3β is critical for this function.

β-catenin has an ancestral role in cell fate specification but not cell adhesion

This study investigates the ancestral role of β-catenin in ctenophores, finding it involved in cell fate specification rather than cell adhesion.