Our Research Impacts

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Molecular and cellular architecture of the larval sensory organ

The apical organ is a neurosensory structure engaged in sensing environmental cues to modulate swimming behaviour and metamorphosis of ciliated planktonic larvae of marine invertebrates. The evolutionary success of the planktonic larvae can be attributed to the apical sensory organ featured with neurons, which allows integrating multiple sensory inputs to produce global responses. Our study revealed molecular and cellular complexity of the sensory system of a morphologically simple sea anemone larva with a phylogenetic position key for understanding the evolution of nervous system. In the long term, our discoveries of mechanisms regulating the life cycle of marine invertebrates will assist in conservation of coastal marine ecosystems. 

Regeneration in sponge Sycon ciliatum mimics postlarval development

A long-standing question in the field of regeneration is whether and to what degree regeneration recapitulates embryonic developmental pathways. Somatic cells dissociated from an adult sponge have the unique ability to reaggregate and fully reconstitute into a functional sponge. This makes the sponge a unique model system for understanding the molecular and evolutionary underpinnings of regeneration. We demonstrated that dissociated sponge cells progressed through a series of morphological and cellular events that vastly overlapped with embryonic and postlarval development. Suggest that sponge regeneration represents somatic or non-zygotic development. Our findings shed new light on the key biological properties that are crucial to understanding the evolution of animal regeneration and Evo-devo.