Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology
Recent Submissions
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Peptide Inhibitors of the α‑Cobratoxin−Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Interaction
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Venomous snakebites cause >100 000 deaths every year, in many cases via potent depression of human neuromuscular signaling by snake α-neurotoxins. Emergency therapy still relies on antibody-based antivenom, hampered by ... -
NvPOU4/Brain3 Functions as a Terminal Selector Gene in the Nervous System of the Cnidarian Nematostella vectensis
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020-03)Terminal selectors are transcription factors that control the morphological, physiological, and molecular features that characterize distinct cell types. Here, we show that, in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, NvPOU4 ... -
RAB5A and TRAPPC6B are novel targets for Shiga toxin 2a inactivation in kidney epithelial cells
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020-03-18)The cardinal virulence factor of human-pathogenic enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is Shiga toxin (Stx), which causes severe extraintestinal complications including kidney failure by damaging renal endothelial ... -
RADICL-seq identifies general and cell type–specific principles of genome-wide RNA-chromatin interactions
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Mammalian genomes encode tens of thousands of noncoding RNAs. Most noncoding transcripts exhibit nuclear localization and several have been shown to play a role in the regulation of gene expression and chromatin remodeling. ... -
The visual pigment xenopsin is widespread in protostome eyes and impacts the view on eye evolution
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Photoreceptor cells in the eyes of Bilateria are often classified into microvillar cells with rhabdomeric opsin and ciliary cells with ciliary opsin, each type having specialized molecular components and physiology. First ... -
The development of early pioneer neurons in the annelid Malacoceros fuliginosus
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Background Nervous system development is an interplay of many processes: the formation of individual neurons, which depends on whole-body and local patterning processes, and the coordinated growth of neurites and synapse ... -
Generating transgenic reporter lines for studying nervous system development in the cnidarian nematostella vectensis
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Neurons often display complex morphologies with long and fine processes that can be difficult to visualize, in particular in living animals. Transgenic reporter lines in which fluorescent proteins are expressed in defined ... -
The genetic basis for PRC1 complex diversity emerged early in animal evolution
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Polycomb group proteins are essential regulators of developmental processes across animals. Despite their importance, studies on Polycomb are often restricted to classical model systems and, as such, little is known about ... -
Some like it hot: population-specific adaptations in venom production to abiotic stressors in a widely distributed cnidarian
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020-09)Background: In cnidarians, antagonistic interactions with predators and prey are mediated by their venom, whose synthesis may be metabolically expensive. The potentially high cost of venom production has been hypothesized ... -
Diversity and host associations of Myrsidea chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) in the tropical rainforest of Malaysian Borneo
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)The tropical rainforests of Sundaland are a global biodiversity hotspot increasingly threatened by human activities. While parasitic insects are an important component of the ecosystem, their diversity and parasite-host ... -
Heterogenic Origin of Micro RNAs in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Seminal Plasma
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)The origin and contribution of seminal plasma RNAs into the whole semen RNA repertoire are poorly known, frequently being overlooked or neglected. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing and RT-qPCR to profile ... -
Transcriptional adaptation in caenorhabditis elegans
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020-01)Transcriptional adaptation is a recently described phenomenon by which a mutation in one gene leads to the transcriptional modulation of related genes, termed adapting genes. At the molecular level, it has been proposed ... -
Gene expression profiles of dicyemid life-cycle stages may explain how dispersing larvae locate new hosts
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019-11-13)Metazoans have evolved a great variety of life histories in response to environmental conditions. A unique example is encountered in dicyemid mesozoans. In addition to a highly simplified adult body comprising only ~ 30 ... -
Active mode of excretion across digestive tissues predates the origin of excretory organs
(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 ... -
CNEr: A toolkit for exploring extreme noncoding conservation
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019-08-26)Conserved Noncoding Elements (CNEs) are elements exhibiting extreme noncoding conservation in Metazoan genomes. They cluster around developmental genes and act as long-range enhancers, yet nothing that we know about their ... -
Hox gene expression in postmetamorphic juveniles of the brachiopod Terebratalia transversa
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019-01-08)Background: Hox genes encode a family of homeodomain containing transcription factors that are clustered together on chromosomes of many Bilateria. Some bilaterian lineages express these genes during embryogenesis in spatial ... -
Evolutionary Implications of the microRNA- and piRNA Complement of Lepidodermella squamata (Gastrotricha)
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019-02-22)Gastrotrichs—’hairy bellies’—are microscopic free-living animals inhabiting marine and freshwater habitats. Based on morphological and early molecular analyses, gastrotrichs were placed close to nematodes, but recent ... -
Gap junction-dependent coordination of intercellular calcium signalling in the developing appendicularian tunicate Oikopleura dioica
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2019)We characterized spontaneous Ca2+ signals in Oikopleura dioica embryos from pre-fertilization to gastrula stages following injection of GCaMP6 mRNA into unfertilized eggs. The unfertilized egg exhibited regular, transient ... -
Hox gene expression during development of the phoronid Phoronopsis harmeri
(Journal article; Peer reviewed, 2020)Background: Phoronida is a small group of marine worm-like suspension feeders, which together with brachiopods and bryozoans form the clade Lophophorata. Although their development is well studied on the morphological ... -
Exciting times to study the identity and evolution of cell types
(Journal article, 2019)The EMBO/EMBL Symposium on ‘The Identity and Evolution of Cell Types’ took place in Heidelberg, Germany, on 15-19 May 2019. The symposium, which brought together a diverse group of speakers addressing a wide range of ...
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