Juan D. Montenegro

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 BMP signaling promotes neurogenesis in cnidarians and suggests its 'anti-neural' role in vertebrates is a side effect of its ancestral function in dorsoventral patterning.

This study uses single-nuclei transcriptomics and a newly sequenced genome to identify cell types and transcriptomic profiles related to adhesion and neurons in Spadella cephaloptera hatchlings.

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 presents a draft genome assembly of the Australian black tiger shrimp, revealing a fragmented IHHNV EVE sequence with implications for viral detection and RNAi mechanisms.

The paper assembles and annotates the black tiger shrimp transcriptome, revealing functional pathways and novel viral transcripts.