MEMBERS OF THE GROUP (Active in 2018)
Postdoctoral Researchers Sebastián R. Najle, Andrej Ondracka, Michelle Leger, Omaya Dudin, Dan Richter, David López, Xavier Grau
Predoctoral Researchers Núria Ros, Alicia S. Arroyo, Eduard Ocaña, Alberto Pérez, Konstantina Mitsi, Helena Parra
Research Technicians Aleksandra Kozyczkowska, Maria Ferrer
Laboratory Technician Meritxell Antó
Master student Alfonso Mendaña
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018
We developed the first genetic tools in a close relative of animals, the filasterean Capsaspora owczarzaki. We also provided a better genome assembly of this organism. This will open future research avenues to address the origin of animals.
We found that animal-type microRNAs and the genes to produce them are not metazoan-specific as previously thought, being present in some unicellular relatives of animals.
We found that the quantity of exon skipping increases significantly in bilaterian animals, compared to other eukaryotes, and is associated to the creation of functional proteins.
2018 SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Xavier Grau-Bové, Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo and Manuel Irimia (2018).
Origin of exon skipping-rich transcriptomes in animals driven by evolution of gene architecture.
Genome Biology 2018 19:135 (2018)
Andrej Ondracka, Omaya Dudin & Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo (2018)
Decoupling of Nuclear Division Cycles and Cell Size during the Coenocytic Growth of the Ichthyosporean Sphaeroforma arctica. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.074
Helena Parra-Acero, Núria Ros-Rocher, Alberto Perez-Posada, Aleksandra Kożyczkowska, Núria Sánchez-Pons, Azusa Nakata, Hiroshi Suga, Sebastián R. Najle, Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo (2018).
Transfection of Capsaspora owczarzaki, a close unicellular relative of animals.
Development, 145 (9). doi: 10.1242/dev.162107
2018 FUNDED PROJECTS
PREMETAZOANEVOLUTION. Unravelling the unicellular prehistory of metazoans by functional analyses and single-cell genomics (ERC-2012-Co, European Research Council)
Origin of Animals: Unravelling the nature of the last unicellular ancestor through a genomic, proteomic and functional approach. (BFU2017-90114-P, MINECO)
New Genetic Tools for Marine Protists (GBMF4973.01, Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation)
SINGEK. Promoting SINgle cell GEnomics to explore the ecology and evolution of hidden microeuKaryotes. (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015, European Comission)
FIGURE CAPTION
Confocal microscopy images of Capsaspora transfected cells.