Kevin Pang

TL;DR: The genome of the ctenophore the warty comb jelly or sea walnut, Mnemiopsis leidyi, is sequenced and it is concluded that c tenophores alone, not sponges or the clade consisting of both ctenphores and cnidarians, are the most basal extant animals.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that metazoan cell types can be defined by networks of transcription factors and proximal promoters, and indicate that further genome regulatory complexity may be required for more diverse cell type repertoires.

TL;DR: These findings suggest that the similarities in dorsoventral patterning and trunk neuroanatomies evolved independently in Bilateria, and restrict the use of molecular patterns to explain nervous system evolution.

TL;DR: Both similarities and differences in juvenile cydippid stage expression patterns between Mnemiopsis Sox genes and their orthologs from Pleurobrachia highlight the importance of using multiple species to characterize the evolution of development within a given phylum.

TL;DR: Details of the evolution of the neural cell type specifying transcription factor family of LIM homeobox containing genes (Lhx) are reported on, which suggest that Lhx genes likely played a conserved role in the patterning of sensory cells in the ancestor of sponges and ctenophores.