Ulrich Technau

This study shows that cholinergic and monoaminergic signaling originated before Bilateria, using a combination of metabolomics, phylogenetics, and single-cell analysis.

This study shows that loss of Twist in Nematostella vectensis impairs tentacle development and causes epithelial neoplasia, highlighting its role in tissue patterning and homeostasis.

The paper functionally analyzes ligand-gated chloride channels in cnidarians, finding that some use glutamate instead of GABA for inhibitory signaling, suggesting early diversification of inhibitory receptors.

The paper shows Notch signaling coordinates germ layer formation and axial polarity in sea anemone gastruloids through a feedback loop with Wnt signaling.

This study investigates the infection strategies of the marine diatom parasite Pirsonia using genomic and transcriptomic analyses, revealing its reliance on actin-based phagocytosis and surface proteins.

The paper investigates the specification of three germ layers in Nematostella vectensis, showing that MAPK, β-catenin, and Notch signaling segregate mesoderm and endoderm, suggesting triploblasty predates cnidarian-bilaterian divergence.

The paper reports chromosome-level genome assemblies of two sea anemones and finds conserved chromosomal blocks across cnidarians and bilaterians, but loss of microsynteny in Hox and NK clusters.

The paper identifies nanos2+ cells in Nematostella vectensis that give rise to both germline and somatic lineages, suggesting conserved roles for nanos and piwi genes in stem cells across cnidarians.

The paper identifies 31 Nematostella vectensis GPCRs activated by 14 neuropeptides, showing cnidarian and bilaterian peptidergic systems expanded independently.

The study identifies gene duplications and co-option of effector modules as mechanisms driving muscle cell type diversification in sea anemones.

The paper identifies SoxC as a conserved regulator of neurosecretory lineages in Nematostella vectensis using single-cell RNA-sequencing.

The paper investigates β-catenin-dependent axial patterning in Nematostella and finds similar regulatory logic to deuterostomes, suggesting a common evolutionary origin.

The paper shows that a cadherin switch accompanies germ layer formation in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, with cadherin1 and cadherin3 playing roles in tissue integrity and morphogenesis.