piRNAs are regulators of metabolic reprogramming in stem cells.

Stem cells preferentially use glycolysis instead of oxidative phosphorylation and this metabolic rewiring plays an instructive role in their fate; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unexplored. PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and PIWI proteins have essential functions in a range of adult stem cells across species. Here, we show that piRNAs and the PIWI protein Aubergine (Aub) are instrumental in activating glycolysis in Drosophila female germline stem cells (GSCs).

A novel system to study coral biomineralization in the starlet sea anemone, .

Coral conservation requires a mechanistic understanding of how environmental stresses disrupt biomineralization, but progress has been slow, primarily because corals are not easily amenable to laboratory research. Here, we highlight how the starlet sea anemone, , can serve as a model to interrogate the cellular mechanisms of coral biomineralization. We have developed transgenic constructs using biomineralizing genes that can be injected into zygotes and designed such that translated proteins may be purified for physicochemical characterization.

Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in a sea anemone.

Cnidocytes are the explosive stinging cells unique to cnidarians (corals, jellyfish, etc). Specialized for prey capture and defense, cnidocytes comprise a group of over 30 morphologically and functionally distinct cell types. These unusual cells are iconic examples of biological novelty but the developmental mechanisms driving diversity of the stinging apparatus are poorly characterized, making it challenging to understand the evolutionary history of stinging cells.

A novel regulatory gene promotes novel cell fate by suppressing ancestral fate in the sea anemone .

Cnidocytes (i.e., stinging cells) are an unequivocally novel cell type used by cnidarians (i.

Genomic analysis of the tryptome reveals molecular mechanisms of gland cell evolution.

Background: Understanding the drivers of morphological diversity is a persistent challenge in evolutionary biology. Here, we investigate functional diversification of secretory cells in the sea anemone to understand the mechanisms promoting cellular specialization across animals.

Results: We demonstrate regionalized expression of gland cell subtypes in the internal ectoderm of and show that adult gland cell identity is acquired very early in development.

Clonal analysis by tunable CRISPR-mediated excision.

Clonal marking techniques based on the Cre/lox and Flp/FRT systems are widely used in multicellular model organisms to mark individual cells and their progeny, in order to study their morphology, growth properties and developmental fates. The same tools can be adapted to introduce specific genetic changes in a subset of cells within the body, i.e.

Live imaging reveals the progenitors and cell dynamics of limb regeneration.

Regeneration is a complex and dynamic process, mobilizing diverse cell types and remodelling tissues over long time periods. Tracking cell fate and behaviour during regeneration in active adult animals is especially challenging. Here, we establish continuous live imaging of leg regeneration at single-cell resolution in the crustacean .

Drosophila chibby is required for basal body formation and ciliogenesis but not for Wg signaling.

Centriole-to-basal body conversion, a complex process essential for ciliogenesis, involves the progressive addition of specific proteins to centrioles. CHIBBY (CBY) is a coiled-coil domain protein first described as interacting with β-catenin and involved in Wg-Int (WNT) signaling. We found that, in Drosophila melanogaster, CBY was exclusively expressed in cells that require functional basal bodies, i.