Expression of two highly regulated subfamilies of the complex multigene family encoding IL-17 cytokines in the purple sea urchin are sequentially activated in a larval gut-associated inflammation model and modulate downstream gene expression in the gut epithelium.

A gene duplication event has permitted the functional specialization of a homeodomain transcription factor through changes in exon-intron organization and these changes have supported the evolution of a major, phylum-level morphological novelty.

On entry to meiosis, chromosomes scattered in the large oocyte nucleus of starfish are collected by an F-actin network, which contracts by an unexpected, myosin-independent mechanism based on local assembly and global disassembly of actin filaments.

Combined light and electron microscopy reveals a new function for Arp2/3-mediated actin assembly in nuclear envelope rupture, which leads to a separation of nuclear membranes and pores from the lamina.

Multimodal technologies and the experimental tractability of sea urchin embryos reveal diverse regulatory mechanisms and unique genes for distinct pigment cell states.

Time-course phosphoproteomics reveals that selective dephosphorylation is critical for directing the MI/MII transition and that, through its inherent phospho-threonine preference, PP2A-B55 imposes specific phosphoregulated behaviors that distinguish the two meiotic divisions.

Seastar larvae can regenerate their nervous system by specifying cells to express the gene sox2 to enter neural progenitor states that then follow embryonic gene regulatory modes to form new neurons.

The transcriptional control system of a sea urchin gene reveals the deep evolutionary conservation of a gene regulatory network underlying morphogenesis.

Mathematical methods reveal common underlying principles in diverse models of intracellular actin waves.

A study of sea urchin and sea star larvae paves the way for understanding how cell types evolve and give rise to novel morphologies.