The evolution of novel cell types led to the emergence of new tissues and organs during the
diversification of animals 1 . The origin of the chondrocyte, the cell type that synthesizes …

10.7554/eLife.43828.001 Cephalopod mollusks evolved numerous anatomical novelties,
including arms and tentacles, but little is known about the developmental mechanisms …

The blastema is a mass of progenitor cells that enables regeneration of amputated
salamander limbs or fish fins. Methodology to label and track blastemal cell progeny has been …

Correct patterning of the nervous system is essential for an organism's survival and complex
behavior. Embryologists have used the sea urchin as a model for decades, but our …

Background The sea urchin is a basal deuterostome that is more closely related to vertebrates
than many organisms traditionally used to study neurogenesis. This phylogenetic position …

In the sea urchin larva, most neurons lie within an ectodermal region called the ciliary band.
Our understanding of the mechanisms of specification and patterning of these peripheral …

Gastrulation is arguably the most important evolutionary innovation in the animal kingdom.
This process provides the basic embryonic architecture, an inner layer separated from an …

Background In chondrichthyans, basal osteichthyans and tetrapods, vertebral bodies have
cartilaginous anlagen that subsequently mineralize (chondrichthyans) or ossify (osteichthyans…

Background The genome of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus has recently been
sequenced because it is a major model system for the study of gene regulatory networks. …

Background Conservation of orthologous regulatory gene expression domains, especially
along the neuroectodermal anterior-posterior axis, in animals as disparate as flies and …