EvodevogenomeUB- Cañestro’s lab

We are hiring!! We offer a 4-year PhD contract to join our newly granted project on EvoDevo and Genomics in the University of Barcelona 2026-2030. Postdocs are also welcome ➡️ evodevogenomics-unibarcelona.weebly.com/join-us.html @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @the-node.bsky.social

🫵🏼 If you want to do a PhD studying this wonderful creature of the pic, WE ARE NOW HIRING 💰!! Go to our profile for more info ℹ️. Postdocs are also welcome to get in touch!! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Fantastic talk on the #Oikodefensome by our MSCA-postdoc Núria P. Torres-Águila representing our lab in the #ITM2026 #ITM13 in Berlin!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social @ub.edu 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Fantastic talk on #Oikopleura muscle development and evolution by our postdoc Marc Fabregà representing our lab in the #ITM2026 in Berlin!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 @marcfabregatorrus.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social @ub.edu 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

Have you heard of Oikopleura? These tiny pelagic tunicates make their own mucus "houses" that trap food as they float. Super amazing opportunity to study them in Barcelona!

What a wondeful #EED26 meeting in Glasgow🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, great talks, posters, discussions, new contacts, collaborations and reunions with former lab members and many all friends😊 @ntorresag.bsky.social @tinosaurio.bsky.social @marcfabregatorrus.bsky.social @gasparsanchez.bsky.social @marti-solans.bsky.social

Today, we had a great day in which we gave two more talks in #EED26, Cristian Cañestro on the “less, but more” about #geneloss, and Marc Fabregà-Torrus @marcfabregatorrus.bsky.social on #Oikopleura tail muscle and neuromesodermal evolution. @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social

Today, I felt genuinely honored of giving a #keynote lecture with so many old friends of the #amphioxus community and so many new young members, sign of strong health. Thanks Marina @mbrasovives.bsky.social and Matteo Bozzo for the invitation and allowing me to enjoy such as meaningful moment #EED26

Great presentation by Eva @evadevo.bsky.social in the #oceanoise26, about her PhD project codirected by C. Cañestro (UB @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social ) & R Pagès-Alsina (LaSalle) characterizing the genetic response of #Oikopleura to noise pollution 🌊🔊🚢 in the #Deuteronoise consortium

Great #labmeeting by Giorgio @giorgioblumer.bsky.social about the progress of his research during his stay in our lab!!

Great #outreach talk within the #Pint26 initiative @pintofscience.es in a bar 🍺 in Barcelona about Oikopleura🔬, gene losses🧬, genome scrambling🍳, and presenting our new EIG-Concert Japan 🇯🇵 project on climate change adaptations🌊 @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @yghavi.bsky.social

What a great outreach event, once more in #FestaCiènciaUB. Thanks to all lab members for the kind dedication and specially to @baielx.bsky.social for the organization. Sharing our passion for Science with kids is priceless @ubdivulga.bsky.social @ub.edu @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social

Thrilled to be invited to give a keynote presentation in the "Amphioxus and beyond" satellite meeting in the EuroEvoDevo congress in Glasgow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Looking forward to enjoying such a beautiful event with so many great talks!! @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @ub.edu

🗣️Taller @geneticsub.bsky.social a la #FestaCiènciaUB @ubdivulga.bsky.social 🧬Oikopleura dioica,els nostres germans del plàncton marí @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social 🔬Coneixareu l'O.dioica i veureu com podem distingir a dins del seu cos microscòpic els mateixos òrgans i estructures que al nostre.

Thrilled to be part of this extraordinary set of groups of the #EvoDevOmics Network, and glad to see the interactions of my team with members of other labs. Great presentations by @alfonso233.bsky.social and @baielx.bsky.social of our lab projects on gene loss and genomics. #dissemination #outreach

I’ve enjoyed very much sharing our latest results on oikopleura population genomics in an invited seminar by @theafrogers.bsky.social from Oleg Simakov lab @univie.ac.at, enjoying interesting discussions about their 🐙 projects, and meeting with @ulrichtechnau.bsky.social Davin, Roger🤩… Thanks!

We are glad to host @jenniferlove7.bsky.social, postdoc in @yghavi.bsky.social lab, who is going to be collecting Oikopleura samples and learning from our team the secrets of Oikopleuras’ life @geneticsub.bsky.social . Thanks Jenny for the great seminar! Looking forward for exciting collaborations!

“The Lunar Surface of an Embryo of Oikopleura dioca” Our lab participates in the third edition of the #geneticART exhibition at @geneticsub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social @ub.edu celebrating today the #InternationalArtDay. Come to our department, enjoy the exhibition and vote for the winner😉🌔

Outreach: “Genetics, sexual & asexual reproduction” class by @criscanestro.bsky.social with 6th grade students in Escola Itaca. Kids enjoyed cutting Planarians into pieces, which now will be monitored for weeks to observe regeneration and the formation of new individuals. @geneticsub.bsky.social

Great labmeeting by @esteeve.bsky.social showing work progress of his Master project in the @geneticsub.bsky.social program co-supervised by @alfonso233.bsky.social.

Welcome Giorgio Blumen to our lab as a visitor researcher for four months to expand his PhD #deuteronoise project supervised by Roberta Penatti in University of Milan into Oikopleura and transcriptomics!! Yesterday, he enjoyed our weekly labmeeting by @baielx.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social

#ProjecteIRBio 🧬 Com pot un genoma reordenar-se completament… i que l’animal segueixi igual? Investigadores #NuriaTorres i #MariaRoselló de l’@IRBioUB apliquen ATAC‑seq a Oikopleura dioica i obté les primeres dades d’obertura de cromatina per entendre aquest misteri evolutiu. shorturl.at/igyYC

🔬 Sabies que…? 🧬 L’Oikopleura és un organisme clau en recerca sobre desenvolupament, regulació gènica i evolució del genoma 🧐 En vols saber més? A @geneticsub.bsky.social el grup d’en Cristian Cañestro @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social l’estudia com a model, especialment l’espècie Oikopleura dioica.

Great presentation by Biel Cassà on his PhD project about Oikopleura genome scrambling co-supervised by Nuria Torres-Águila & Cristian Cañestro in the section of Genetics during the 4th #NGIRBio @irbio-ub.bsky.social @baielx.bsky.social @ntorresag.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @ub.edu

Thrilled to be part of the Spanish #EvoDevOmics network. The amazing talent within it shows how strong evo-devo is in Spain. Exciting and fruitful collaborations ahead!

Back in BCN after an great week in Valencia, 1st meeting of #EvoDevOmics network with @mirimiam.bsky.social @anariesgo.bsky.social @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social @patrialvarezcam.bsky.social @jpascualanaya.bsky.social @phylobrain.bsky.social @fany-real.bsky.social @imaeso.bsky.social & Nuria Flames

1st #EvoDevOmics meeting🍊 What a terrific team @isabelalmudi.bsky.social @mirimiam.bsky.social @anariesgo.bsky.social @patrialvarezcam.bsky.social @jpascualanaya.bsky.social @phylobrain.bsky.social @fany-real.bsky.social Núria🔥 Nacho and more. What great hosts🥘 @hector-escriva.bsky.social & Steph

Excellent meeting organized by @sesbe-org.bsky.social enjoying an incredible time with colleagues and friends in beautiful València🍊, while sharing our latest work on #Oikopleura genome scrambling, speciation and breaKOs. @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @ub.edu

Bones festes i bon 2026! @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social

Apply for Development's Pathway to Independence programme The programme aims to support a small number of researchers in the fields of developmental biology, stem cells and regeneration as they transition from postdoc to group leader. Read more ⬇️ thenode.biologists.com/apply-for-de...

⏰ Última setmana per inscriure’s a #científiques 2026! Si ets investigadora o formes part d’un centre educatiu, encara hi ets a temps. Uneix-te a la iniciativa que ja ha portat més de 600 científiques a les aules i ha implicat més de 500 centres. 📆Termini: 22/12 🔗https://tuit.cat/TSJhl

CORAL: Accurate annotation of compact genomes using long-read RNA-seq, demonstrated in Oikopleura dioica https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.04.692336v1

Evolution of Tunicate lifestyles shaped by Myosin heavy chain gene duplications, losses, and the diversification of tail muscle cell identities in Oikopleura dioica https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.09.693291v1

Evolution of Tunicate lifestyles shaped by Myosin heavy chain gene duplications, losses, and the diversification of tail muscle cell identities in Oikopleura dioica https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.09.693291v1

Downstream effects of the ''Less, but More'' Fgf signaling in Oikopleura dioica: Fgf receptor expansion and RTK pathway simplification. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.09.693154v1

Huge Congrats to DOCTOR Marc for his PhD, and with his #TailingFree has become one of the Oikopleura Legends of Barcelona! It has been an enormous pleasure to guide you in this amazing evodevo trip! @marcfabregatorrus.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social

Feliç diada!! Happy Catalonian day!! Today, we celebrate the national day of Catalonia, …and one of the typical things we eat today is the “Bread of Saint Jordi” (top), that clearly resembles “something” known by all biologists 😅 💛❤️💛❤️💛❤️💛❤️💛🔬🧬🪰

Congrats Esteve 👏🏻👏🏻 for your excellent defense of your TFG studying how marine noise contamination affects #Oikopleura, #deuteronoise project cosupervised by @evadevo.bsky.social @esteeve.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @ub.edu

@criscanestro.bsky.social gives a lovely, thoughtful talk on this theme, on a tunicate species with very a scrambled genome; then reflects on what the patterns of scrambling can tell us about the underlying regulatory architecture. #eseb2025

Thanks @jmolev.bsky.social !! For more on our science, please follow us here at @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social

✒️ Don't miss @carlzimmer.com’s article in @nytimes.com, on the impact of gene loss in pygmy seahorses, featuring insights from Cristian Cañestro @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social 🔗 www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/s...

Beautiful piece by @carlzimmer.com about the impact of #GeneLoss on pygmy sea horses. Thrilled to see Cañestro’s comments mentioned in @nytimes.com. This does not happen everyday! Thanks, Carl☺️ @criscanestro.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social @ub.edu

Great contributions of our lab in #ESEB2025 with our research on genome architecture and gene regulation from an #oikopleura perspective. Great organization @eseb2025.bsky.social @tonigabaldon.bsky.social @ntorresag.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social

Today in #FestaCiènciaUB we are sharing the progress of our @deuteronoise project JPI studying how marine noise pollution affects embryo development of marine invertebrates. Great work @evadevo.bsky.social in collaboration lasalle’s group of Dra. RosaM Alsina & Ignasi Nou @ubdivulga.bsky.social

Avui i demà el nostre grup @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social participa a #FestaCiènciaUB compartint amb els infants el que fem al laboratori i promovent les seves ganes d’investigar i descobrir els enigmes que la natura ens ofereix. Gràcies @ubdivulga.bsky.social per organitzar-ho!

Despertem a la #FestaCiènciaUB la consciència sobre la contaminació marina que pateixen els nostres mars i oceans 🌊 a través de l'observació de criatures marines 🔎 web.ub.edu/ca/web/laubd... @evodevogenomeub.bsky.social @geneticsub.bsky.social @irbio-ub.bsky.social @biologiaub.bsky.social

#Genètica | Llegim a @es.theconversation.com  aquest article del @criscanestro.bsky.social  i el @gasparsanchez.bsky.social  ➡️ Menos, pero más: entendiendo la pérdida de genes en la evolución. 🔗 https://theconversation.com/menos-pero-mas-entendiendo-la-perdida-de-genes-en-la-evolucion-249961