Publications by authors named "Anne-C Zakrzewski"
Article Synopsis
- The evolutionary origin of Bilateria is unclear, but similarities between cnidarian-like larvae and simple flatworms suggest a connection, linking Xenacoelomorpha as a potential early branch of Bilateria.
- This study focuses on assembling and analyzing the genome of a marine xenacoelomorph, discovering it has a genome size of ~111 Mbp with characteristics similar to other bilaterians.
- The findings indicate that despite its simple body plan, the xenacoelomorph has a complex genome and retains many features typical of bilaterians, challenging previous assumptions about its evolutionary simplicity.
Article Synopsis
- Phylogenetic research has grouped previously isolated groups like nematodermatids, acoels, and xenoturbelids into a new phylum called Xenacoelomorpha.
- Some studies suggest that Xenacoelomorpha may be closely related to Ambulacraria, while others indicate it could be a sibling group to all Bilateria.
- Research using single-cell RNA sequencing in the marine worm Xenoturbella bocki reveals similarities in nerve nets, muscles, and glands that support the idea of shared evolutionary traits among various animal groups, reinforcing the monophyly of Xenacoelomorpha.
Even though chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature, current knowledge on chitin formation is largely based only on data from fungi and insects. This study reveals unanticipated broad taxonomic distribution and extensive diversification of chitin synthases (CSs) in Metazoa, shedding new light on the relevance of chitin in animals and suggesting unforeseen complexity of chitin synthesis in many groups. We uncovered robust orthologs to insect type CSs in several representatives of deuterostomes, which generally are not thought to possess chitin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPiwi-like genes are a subgroup of Argonaute genes which participate as gene regulators by gene silencing. In most bilaterians, such as mouse, human, insects, and zebrafish, their expression is mostly limited to gonadal stem cells. But there are some striking exceptions to this pattern; flatworms and acoels also express Piwi-like genes in somatic stem cells, due to their unique replacement system.
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