The life cycle and morphology of the sea squirt Ciona intestinalis shed light on vertebrate evolution.

The Botryllus schlosseri genome yields insights into the evolution of hematopoiesis.

A gene network for heart versus head muscle specification has been identified in the tunicate Ciona.

Embryos of distantly related sea squirt species are nearly identical but develop according to different gene regulatory mechanisms.

An in silico analysis of gap junction proteins supports the hypothesis that connexins replaced the primordial innexins in chordate gap junctions due to an evolutionary bottleneck.

Morphologic, molecular, biomechanical and computational analyses show that the specialized extracellular matrix architecture of the umbilical artery contributes to its rapid closure at birth and regulates smooth muscle cell differentiation.

Interest in the ecology, biology and evolution of amphioxus is growing, and the availability of several species is helping to improve our understanding of chordate evolution.

The investigation of neuroimmunology in non-model organisms is critical to diversify the field and identify primordial principles that govern neuroimmune communication across taxa.

ATAC-seq, CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis, reporter and gene expression assays revealed dynamic chromatin accessibility profiles governing differential gene expression during heart vs. pharyngeal muscle fate choices in the powerful chordate model Ciona.

Ascidian mesendoderm is a transient regulatory state upstream of mesoderm and endoderm gene regulatory networks and required for the initiation of both.