Cristian Cañestro lab
EvoDevoGenomeUB
Group Leader: Cristian Cañestro ORCID: 0000-0003-4623-8105 Contact: canestro (at) ub.edu Group web site: https://evodevogenomics-unibarcelona.weebly.com/ Twitter: @evodevogenomeUB Instagram: @evodevogenomeUB News, Popular Science and Outreach: https://evodevogenomics-unibarcelona.weebly.com/news-and-outreach.html |
What is the impact of gene loss on the evolution of species? Until recently, the origin of evolutionary novelties had been mostly related to gene gain and an increase of gene complexity. In the advent of the bloom of sequenced genomes, however, it is becoming clear that gene losses are prevalent over gene gains, which is providing a new perspective of gene loss as a pervasive important source of genetic variation throughout the tree of life with a great potential to generate phenotypic diversity and adaptation by gene simplification (Albalat and Cañestro, 2016, Nat. Rev. Genet).
Our research interest focus in the study of the origin and diversification of our own phylum, the chordates. In particular, our group pioneers the study of the appendicularian tunicate Oikopleura dioica as a novel emergent animal model to study the evolutionary impact of gene loss, and as a conceptual case study to develop the use of evolutionary knockout animal models which may become of fundamental importance once the genomes of all eukaryotic species of the planet will become available from the Earth Biogenome Project (EBP).
Our current research can be structured in four main lines:
Our research interest focus in the study of the origin and diversification of our own phylum, the chordates. In particular, our group pioneers the study of the appendicularian tunicate Oikopleura dioica as a novel emergent animal model to study the evolutionary impact of gene loss, and as a conceptual case study to develop the use of evolutionary knockout animal models which may become of fundamental importance once the genomes of all eukaryotic species of the planet will become available from the Earth Biogenome Project (EBP).
Our current research can be structured in four main lines:
by CRistian Cañestro
- Deconstruction and the cardiopharyngeal gene regulatory network and the origin of sessile life styles in ancestral tunicates. (Ferrández-Roldán et al., 2021 Nature) For more information: Ecology and Evolution community in Nature "Deconstruction" of cardiac development and the evolution of tunicate life styles" by Cristian Cañestro |
- The defensome, vertical epigenetic inheritance and marine embryo adaptive genetic responses to environmental threats derived from climate change and human pollution (Torres-Águila et al., 2018 Commun. Biol). Part of this project is led by Dr. Ahmed Elewa in collaboration with Dr. Oded Rechavi's lab (University of Tel Aviv, ISRAEL) and the other part of the project is developed in collaboration with Dr. Vittoria Roncalli, Dr. Salvatore D'Aniello, Dr. Giovanna Romano and Dr. Anna Palumbo (Stazione Zoologica Anton Dhorn, Naples, ITALY)
For more information: Nature Ecology and Evolution Community: Are marine embryos ready to respond to climate change? by Cristian Cañestro |
- Comparative population genomics and the evolution of genome architecture. This project is developed in collaboration with Dr. Luscombe's lab (OIST, Okinawa, JAPAN) and in the context of the Catalan Biogenome Project affiliated to the EBP. |
- Development of new tools for gene manipulation by CRISPR in appendicularians. This project is developed in collaboration with Dr. Hector Escrivà, Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls sur Mer, FRANCE)