This study shows that pax6 is critical for dorsoventral patterning and nerve cord development in Platynereis, supporting a conserved role in bilaterian nervous system evolution.

bioRxiv · Jun 27, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology

Single-cell, clonal and spatial atlases of cranial placodes illuminate their specification and evolution

А. Р. Муртазина, Yuliia Fatieieva, Felix Waern, Helen R. Maunsell, Ankita Thawani, Bettina Semsch, Johan Boström, Caleb C. Reagor, Polina Kameneva, Karina R. Araslanova, Sergey V. Isaev, Franziska Schelb, Kaj Fried, Alek G. Erickson, Alexander V. Klimovich, , Igor I. Adameyko

The paper integrates single-cell, spatial, and clonal data to study cranial placode development and evolution, revealing continuous transcriptional landscapes and shared progenitors between placodes.

bioRxiv · Apr 3, 2026 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

Ancestral role of Pax6 in chordate brain regionalization

Zbyněk Kozmík, Iryna Kozmiková

This study investigates the role of Pax6 in amphioxus CNS development, finding altered gene expression in mutants and supporting a conserved role in brain regionalization.

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology · Jul 25, 2024Peer-reviewedDevelopmental Biology

A conserved regulatory program drives emergence of the lateral plate mesoderm

Karin D. Prummel, Christopher Hess, Susan Nieuwenhuize, Hugo J. Parker, Katherine W. Rogers, Iryna Kozmiková, Claudia Racioppi, Eline Constance Brombacher, Anna Czarkwiani, Dunja Knapp, Sibylle Burger Staufer, Elena Chiavacci, Gopi Shah, Alexa Burger, Jan Huisken, , Christian Mosimann

The paper identifies a conserved regulatory program driving lateral plate mesoderm emergence across chordates using zebrafish and comparative analysis.

bioRxiv · May 9, 2019 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology