Molecular, cellular and behavioral genetic approaches in Platynereis dumerilii indicate that r-Opsins can act as ancient, light-dependent modulators of mechanosensation, and suggest that light-independent mechanosensory roles of r-Opsins evolved secondarily.

Connectomic reconstruction combined with activity imaging uncovered a rhythmically active neuronal circuit for the coordination of ciliary activity across the whole body of a marine larva.

Building on previous work (Randel et al., 2014), a comparison of the visual neuronal circuitry in two Platynereis larvae, made using serial electron microscopic reconstructions, reveals a high level of stereotypy in the synaptic connectivity.

The Platynereis startle circuit links polycystin-dependent hydrodynamic sensors to muscle and ciliary effector cells.

Lineage tracing at single-cell resolution reveals the presence of mesoteloblasts, the embryonic origin of mesodermal growth zone cells, and diverse cell cycling patterns of these lineages in the 'Polychaete' annelid Platynereis.

Three-dimensional mapping of the neural circuitry that controls movement of a marine worm in response to light provides insights into the evolution of complex visual systems.

A new technique called ‘siGOLD’ allows neural circuits to be mapped using a combination of antibody labeling and electron microscopy.

A combination of electron microscopic reconstruction and the analysis of single cell transcriptome data is used to reconstruct synaptic and peptidergic signaling networks in a neurosecretory centre.

Molecular profiling of annelid myocytes reveals that the last common protostome-deuterostome ancestor already possessed a dual musculature, with visceral smooth muscles ensuring digestion and somatic striated muscles ensuring locomotion.

Volume-EM reconstruction of a whole-body desmosomal connectome including all muscles and their desmosomal partners in a Platynereis larva provides a detailed view of the organisation of the entire locomotor system in an animal.