The germline of multicellular animals is segregated from somatic tissues, which is an
essential developmental process for the next generation. Although certain ecdysozoans and …

Sexually reproducing metazoans establish a cell lineage during development that is
ultimately dedicated to gamete production. Work in a variety of animals suggests that a …

Using scRNA-seq coupled with computational approaches, we studied transcriptional
changes in cell states of sea urchin embryos during development to the larval stage …

DEAD-box helicases related to the Drosophila protein Vasa (also known as Ddx4) are found
throughout the animal kingdom. They have been linked to numerous processes in …

Nodal and BMP signals are important for establishing left-right (LR) asymmetry in
vertebrates. In sea urchins, Nodal signaling prevents the formation of the rudiment on the …

Progress in resolving the phylogenetic relationships among animals and the expansion of
molecular developmental studies to a broader variety of organisms has provided important …

Identifying cell states during development from their mRNA profiles provides insight into their
gene regulatory network. Here, we leverage the sea urchin embryo for its well-established …

The separation of the germ line from the soma is a classic concept in animal biology, and
depending on species is thought to involve fate determination either by maternally localized …

Background Stem cells have a critical role during adult growth and regeneration. Germline
stem cells are specialized stem cells that produce gametes during sexual reproduction …

Echinoderms represent a phylum with exceptional regenerative capabilities that can
reconstruct both external appendages and internal organs. Mechanistic understanding of …