• Active mode of excretion across digestive tissues predates the origin of excretory organs 

      Andrikou, Carmen; Thiel, Daniel; Ruiz-Santiesteban, Juan A.; Hejnol, Andreas (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019)
      Most bilaterian animals excrete toxic metabolites through specialized organs, such as nephridia and kidneys, which share morphological and functional correspondences. In contrast, excretion in non-nephrozoans is largely ...
    • An ancient FMRFamide-related peptide-receptor pair induces defense behavior in a brachiopod larva 

      Thiel, Daniel; Bauknecht, Philipp; Jékely, Gáspár; Hejnol, Andreas (Journal article, 2017)
      Animals show different behaviors that can consist of various spatially or temporally separated sub-reactions. Even less complex organisms, like ciliated larvae that display important behaviors (e.g. metamorphosis, defense, ...
    • Conservative route to genome compaction in a miniature annelid 

      Martin-Duran, José M.; Vellutini, Bruno Cossermelli; Marletaz, Ferdinand; Cetrangolo, Viviana; Cvetesic, Nevena; Thiel, Daniel; Henriet, Simon; Grau-Bové, Xavier; Carrillo-Baltodano, Allan M.; Gu, Wenjia; Kerbl, Alexandra; Marquez, Yamile; Bekkouche, Nicolas; Chourrout, Daniel; Gómez-Skarmeta, José Luis; Irimia, Manuel; Lenhard, Boris; Worsaae, Katrine; Hejnol, Andreas (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2021)
      The causes and consequences of genome reduction in animals are unclear because our understanding of this process mostly relies on lineages with often exceptionally high rates of evolution. Here, we decode the compact ...
    • Evolutionary and behavioral analysis of neuropeptides in bilaterians 

      Thiel, Daniel (Doctoral thesis, 2017-06-29)
      Neuropeptides are a diverse group of neurosecretory signaling molecules that are utilized by the nervous system of all bilaterian animals. These signaling molecules are involved in most physiological processes and can play ...
    • A nemertean excitatory peptide/CCHamide regulates ciliary swimming in the larvae of Lineus longissimus 

      Thiel, Daniel; Bauknecht, Philipp; Jékely, Gáspár; Hejnol, Andreas (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019-07-10)
      Background The trochozoan excitatory peptide (EP) and its ortholog, the arthropod CCHamide, are neuropeptides that are only investigated in very few animal species. Previous studies on different trochozoan species focused ...
    • Nemertean, Brachiopod, and Phoronid Neuropeptidomics Reveals Ancestral Spiralian Signaling Systems 

      Hejnol, Andreas H.; Thiel, Daniel; Jékely, Gáspár; Franz-Wachtel, Mirita; Yanez-Guerra, Luis A. (Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2021)
      Neuropeptides are diverse signaling molecules in animals commonly acting through G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Neuropeptides and their receptors underwent extensive diversification in bilaterians and the relationships ...
    • A safer, urea-based in situ hybridization method improves detection of gene expression in diverse animal species 

      Sinigaglia, Chiara; Thiel, Daniel; Houliston, Evelyn; Leclère, Lucas (Journal article, 2017)
      In situ hybridization is a widely employed technique allowing spatial visualization of gene expression in fixed specimens. It has proven to be essential to our understanding of biological processes, including developmental ...