Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42711331›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Distinct cell states define larval and adult body plans in a hemichordate.

Paul Bump, Carolyn Brewster, Laurent Formery, Lauren Lubeck, Catherine Campbell, Maurizio Morri, Rene Sit, Daniel S Rokhsar, Blair Benham-Pyle, Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Paul BumpHopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6210-9947
Carolyn BrewsterStowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1708-5317
Laurent FormeryHopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.
Lauren LubeckHopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4215-2278
Catherine CampbellHopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA.ORCID 0009-0002-5594-0764
Maurizio MorriCZ Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Rene SitCZ Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Daniel S RokhsarMolecular and Cell Biology Department at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8704-2224
Blair Benham-PyleStem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Alejandro Sánchez AlvaradoStowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1966-6959
Christopher J LoweHopkins Marine Station, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, CA, USA. clowe@stanford.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-7789-8643

Funding

National Science Foundation (NSF) DGE- 1147470
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A major gap in our understanding of animal development is how adult body plans arise in animals with indirect development, where adults emerge from the transformation of a distinct larval form during metamorphosis. We address this question by examining cellular changes in the enteropneust hemichordate Schizocardium californicum, a species with a complex lifecycle and dramatic metamorphosis. Employing whole-body single-cell RNA sequencing, we chart the cellular composition and transcriptional dynamics of larval, metamorphic, and adult stages. Our tissue-level atlas reveals that ectodermal and endodermal cell types in larvae and adults occupy distinct transcriptional spaces, showing greater similarity to other cell types within the same life stage than to their counterparts in the opposite stage. In contrast, mesodermal cell types from both larvae and adults cluster closely together, indicating conserved transcriptional profiles. These findings demonstrate that the extensive morphological reorganization during metamorphosis is accompanied by broad shifts in transcriptional identity and reveal life-history stage as a major organizing axis of cellular state during the larva-to-adult transition.

Indexed as

Body PatterningChordata, NonvertebrateMetamorphosis, BiologicalAnimalsEctodermEndodermGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalLarvaMesodermSingle-Cell AnalysisTranscriptome

Identifiers

PMID42711331
PMCPMC13554239

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.