ArticleNature ecology & evolution2018
Early metazoan cell type diversity and the evolution of multicellular gene regulation.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 146 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
146 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Review
- Unicellular and Multicellular Modes of Selection Impose Distinct Constraints on Cellular Phenotype Evolution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Distinct cell states define larval and adult body plans in a hemichordate.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Extreme conservation of cnidarian stinging cell identity despite 600 million years of evolution.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Evidence for an early cadherin-catenin interaction network in ctenophores.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- GeneExt: a gene model extension tool for enhanced single-cell RNA-seq analysis.Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Neural connectome of the ctenophore statocyst.eLife · 2026Article
- Early transcription factor activation distinguishes symbiotic from non-symbiotic bacteria during microbiome processing in a sponge.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- An ancient lysozyme in placozoans participates in acidic extracellular digestion.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Chemical multiplexing in the nervous system: molecular architecture, functional stratification, and pathophysiological plasticity of neuropeptide-classical neurotransmitter cotransmission.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Review
- Decoding cnidarian cell type gene regulation.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Hydra at the Crossroads of Evolution: Insights into Cell-type Diversification, Regeneration, and Epigenetic Regulation.Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2026Review
- The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins and their changing roles in different organisms across evolution.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Spatially resolved gene expression analysis illuminates location-specific functions in the reef-building coral Pocillopora acuta.PloS one · 2026Article
- The evolutionary foundations of transcriptional regulation in animals.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2025Review
- Voltage-gated ion channel diversity underlies neuronal excitability and nervous system evolution.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Chromatin profiling identifies putative dual roles for H3K27me3 in regulating cell type-specific genes and transposable elements in choanoflagellates.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A molecular, spatial and regulatory atlas of the Hydra vulgaris nervous system.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Establishing single cell RNA transcriptomics: a brief guide.Frontiers in zoology · 2025Review
86 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
A hallmark of metazoan evolution is the emergence of genomic mechanisms that implement cell-type-specific functions. However, the evolution of metazoan cell types and their underlying gene regulatory programmes remains largely uncharacterized. Here, we use whole-organism single-cell RNA sequencing to map cell-type-specific transcription in Porifera (sponges), Ctenophora (comb jellies) and Placozoa species. We describe the repertoires of cell types in these non-bilaterian animals, uncovering diverse instances of previously unknown molecular signatures, such as multiple types of peptidergic cells in Placozoa. Analysis of the regulatory programmes of these cell types reveals variable levels of complexity. In placozoans and poriferans, sequence motifs in the promoters are predictive of cell-type-specific programmes. By contrast, the generation of a higher diversity of cell types in ctenophores is associated with lower specificity of promoter sequences and the existence of distal regulatory elements. Our findings demonstrate 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.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.