Reconstructing the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes.

Understanding the origin of eukaryotic cells is one of the most difficult problems in all of biology. A key challenge relevant to the question of eukaryogenesis is reconstructing the gene repertoire of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). As data sets grow, sketching an accurate genomics-informed picture of early eukaryotic cellular complexity requires provision of analytical resources and a commitment to data sharing.

DNA methylation enables recurrent endogenization of giant viruses in an animal relative.

5-Methylcytosine (5mC) is a widespread silencing mechanism that controls genomic parasites. In eukaryotes, 5mC has gained complex roles in gene regulation beyond parasite control, yet 5mC has also been lost in many lineages. The causes for 5mC retention and its genomic consequences are still poorly understood.

Systematic mapping of organism-scale gene-regulatory networks in aging using population asynchrony.

In aging, physiologic networks decline in function at rates that differ between individuals, producing a wide distribution of lifespan. Though 70% of human lifespan variance remains unexplained by heritable factors, little is known about the intrinsic sources of physiologic heterogeneity in aging. To understand how complex physiologic networks generate lifespan variation, new methods are needed.

An amphioxus neurula stage cell atlas supports a complex scenario for the emergence of vertebrate head mesoderm.

The emergence of new structures can often be linked to the evolution of novel cell types that follows the rewiring of developmental gene regulatory subnetworks. Vertebrates are characterized by a complex body plan compared to the other chordate clades and the question remains of whether and how the emergence of vertebrate morphological innovations can be related to the appearance of new embryonic cell populations. We previously proposed, by studying mesoderm development in the cephalochordate amphioxus, a scenario for the evolution of the vertebrate head mesoderm.