Periklis Paganos
Animal evolution from a cell type perspective, evolution of organogenesis, gene regulatory networks in evolution and development, echinoderms
- Coolness alert!! If you didn’t attend this fantastic microscopy course last year, make sure you do so this coming April! Don’t miss the chance to learn from the best in the field. Plus, the course takes place at @szndohrn.bsky.social, one of the most iconic marine stations in the world!
- Extremely happy to see this work out! I am deeply grateful to everyone who contributed, and especially to @danivoronov.bsky.social, who took the lead! @arnonelab.bsky.social sky is the limit! 🌊🔬🧬
- Exciting news to start the new year! We’re thrilled to see this work finally out in @natecoevo.nature.com, the result of a major collaboration between my lab and the labs of Veronica Hinman and Nacho Maeso, began many years ago with the dear José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- When you combine a brilliant scientist with strong grant support, the result is magic. This is exactly what the NEF project will deliver, nothing less!
- I am beyond excited to share that my postdoc project @szndohrn.bsky.social and the @arnonelab.bsky.social is now available in #ScienceAdvances @science.org. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- really very nice :)
- Thank you!
- Congratulations, Periklis!
- Thanks a lot Uli!
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- Thank you! 😁
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- Thanks a lot Pedro!! 😁
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- Thank you Alison!
- With @szndohrn.bsky.social @danivoronov.bsky.social , @mlrusciano.bsky.social , @mariacocurullo.bsky.social, Filomena Caccavale, Giovanna Benvenuto
- and in collaboration with @mfnberlin.bsky.social, Jack Ullrich-Lüter, Jil Carl, Maria Schauer, Anne-C. Zakrzewski, Berit Zemann, Carsten Lüter, @biodev-vlfr.bsky.social @croce-urchin.bsky.social, Tiphaine Sancerni, Oğuz Akar, @igflyon.bsky.social, @almazan.bsky.social #ScienceAdvancesResearch
- Adding to this complexity, we discovered a vast array of photoreceptor cells with a conserved retinal molecular fingerprint, as well as a population expressing a rare combination of opsins that we hypothesize is an ideal candidate for non-ocular sea urchin vision.
- Long considered brainless creatures, our results provide evidence that sea urchins possess a highly photosensitive nervous system organized in an “all-brain” manner instead.
- Based on our findings, we report that the sea urchin juvenile body plan is head-like, similar to what has previously been demonstrated in sea stars and brittle stars, suggesting that echinoderms in general are predominantly head-like organisms.
- Moreover, we found that the postmetamorphic nervous system, remarkable for its cell type diversity and complexity, also exhibits a head-like molecular signature and expresses vertebrate brain gene homologs.
- With this project, funded by @hfspo.bsky.social, we identified the cell type repertoire of the postmetamorphic sea urchin juvenile at a single nucleus level.
- By comparing juvenile and larval cell types, we identified those that retain developmental molecular signatures and gene regulatory fingerprints, as well as juvenile-specific ones.
- Thrilled to share my newest perspective article with @arnonelab.bsky.social in @dev-journal.bsky.social journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...
- We discuss new research on sea urchins, how echinoderms remain relevant experimental systems in the multiomics era, and the future of the cell type evolution and development field.
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- Our brittle star patterning study is now out at EvoDevo! 🥳 doi.org/10.1186/s132... @lowelab.bsky.social
- Guys another fantastic opportunity, in a fantastic environment, wonderful PI and with one of the most promising new experimental systems!!Apply NOW!
- Do you want to unravel the function of fluorescent cells in marine organisms? Join the Annunziata lab @szn.it for a PhD project exploring embryonic origins, function and biotechnological potential of fluorescent cell type in sea cucumbers! To apply: www.szn.it/.../ph-d-pro...
- Don’t hesitate!!! Amazing project and team and fantastic mentor!!! Apply NOW!
- Do you want to understand how developmental programs are encoded in animal genomes? Join our lab at the @szndohrn.bsky.social for a PhD project to unravel the developmental dynamics in sea urchins during the metamorphosis from larva to juvenile. Deadline JUNE 14th! www.szn.it/index.php/it...
- New preprint from my Postdoc in Zak Swartz’s lab at the @mblscience.bsky.social, in collaboration with Carsten Wolff and @. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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View full threadI am grateful to the support provided to me by the Global Consortium for Productive Health as well as to NICHD R00 awarded to Zak.
- Forgot to mention that this was another beautiful collaboration with @danivoronov.bsky.social!
- Also a blast from the past! Another preprint is now available from my first postdoc in the @arnonelab.bsky.social at @szndohrn.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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View full threadOur findings suggest that the echinoderm nervous system exhibits an "all-brain" organization, with implications for understanding the evolution of nervous system complexity across metazoans.
- It was an incredible team effort and I am grateful to all the co-authors that made this manuscript possible!
- Our findings reveal a remarkable conservation of genetic regulatory mechanisms as well as divergence of post-metamorphic cell types and provide new insights into the evolution of nervous system complexity in echinoderms.
- We report high degree of neuronal diversification and photoreceptor signatures throughout the sea urchin body, challenging the traditional view of the echinoderm nervous system.
- Our study presents a comprehensive cell type atlas of post-metamorphic juveniles of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, utilizing single nucleus transcriptomics in combination with spatial gene expression analysis and high-resolution electron microscopy.
- We found evidence that some of these cell types share striking similarities with their mammalian counterparts. Last, we report an intrinsic nerve net, that surprisingly, expresses neuropeptides associated with the mammalian hypothalamus and pituitary, which may regulate egg production.
- We hope this work will set a new framework for reproductive studies and will be a useful resource for the EvoDevo and oogenesis communities.
- In this study we explore the evolution of ovarian cell types and their signaling interactions using the sea star Patiria miniata, an experimental system with extreme reproductive capabilities and continuous oocyte production.
- As non-chordate deuterostomes, echinoderms provide key evolutionary insights into cell, tissue, and organ development. By combining high-resolution microscopy, scRNA-seq, and spatial gene expression analysis, we defined the ovarian cell types, their organization, and assessed their evolution.
