Gaspar Jekely

Abstract Both natural and synthetic ciliary arrays exhibit diverse coordination patterns. Proper coordination of cilia is essential for the normal physiology of many organisms, from single cells to humans. Yet despite decades of research the mechanisms of cilia coordination remains disputed, particularly the question of how coordinated waves of activity known as metachronal waves arise in different ciliated systems.

Abstract Nervous systems coordinate effectors across the body during movements. We know little about the cellular-level structure of synaptic circuits for such body-wide control. Here we describe the whole-body synaptic connectome of a segmented larva of the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii. We reconstructed and annotated over 9,000 neuronal and non-neuronal cells in a whole-body serial electron microscopy dataset.

Abstract Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) fulfill the essential function of maintaining the stability of cellular differentiation states by sustaining lineage-specific gene expression, while driving the progression of development. However, accounting for the relative stability of intermediate differentiation stages and their divergent trajectories remains a major challenge for models of developmental biology.