Filomena Caccavale

Minos transposon-mediated transgenesis in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

This study demonstrates the use of Minos transposon-mediated transgenesis in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus to generate stable transgenic specimens for functional studies.

Zygotic genome activation is timed by the egg DNA-to-cytoplasm ratio across animals

The paper investigates ZGA timing across 61 animal species and finds that genome size to cytoplasm volume ratio predicts ZGA onset.

Single Nucleus Profiling Highlights the All-Brain Echinoderm Nervous System

The paper uses single-nucleus transcriptomics to analyze post-metamorphic sea urchin cell types, revealing an all-brain organization and homologues of vertebrate neuronal genes.

Developmental toxicity of pre-production plastic pellets affects a large swathe of invertebrate taxa

The paper tests the developmental toxicity of plastic pellets on invertebrates from multiple phyla, finding concentration-dependent effects on embryonic development and morphogenesis.

Crosstalk between Nitric Oxide and Retinoic Acid pathways is essential for amphioxus pharynx development

The paper shows that NO and RA pathways interact in amphioxus pharynx development through reciprocal regulation of Aldh1a.2 and Nos genes.