(Press-News.org) Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of one of the ocean’s most bizzare animals: a branching marine worm named Ramisyllis kingghidorahi that lives inside sea sponges and reproduces in a truly extraordinary way. Living hidden in tropical waters, this worm grows multiple body branches within a host sponge, each tail capable of producing separate living reproductive units called “stolons”. But how does a single animal coordinate sexual reproduction across so many branches? To find out, researchers led by the University of Göttingen analysed gene expression across different body regions and between male, female and juvenile specimens. This provides the first complete “genetic activity map” – or transcriptome – of any branching worm, revealing how this creature manages to control reproduction across its branching body. Their findings were published in BMC Genomics.
The researchers found clear patterns in their analyses: differences in gene activity were more pronounced between different body regions in the same worm than between the sexes. The stolons – short-lived reproductive units that break off from the branches and swim away to mate – had the most distinctive genetic signatures when comparing males and females, probably reflecting their specialised role in gamete production and metamorphosis. “We were surprised to find that the head of the worm, which was previously thought to house a sex-specific control system, didn’t show the dramatic differences we expected between males and females,” said Dr Guillermo Ponz-Segrelles, former researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid. “Instead, the stolons emerged as the true hotspots of gene activity during sexual development.”
An overlooked but key feature of the reproductive stolons is that they sprout eyes before detaching from the main worm body in search of a mate. This study revealed upregulation of genes related to eye development, providing the first clues about how the tip of a branch of the worm body metamorphoses into an independent stolon. Interestingly, the data also hint at the possibility of partial genome duplication in Ramisyllis, which may help explain the complexity of its biology and reproductive system. Despite some challenges in identifying conserved signalling pathways, the results point to a unique genetic toolkit in Ramisyllis and highlight how little we still know about reproduction in marine invertebrates. “This worm and its surreal, tree-like body made headlines around the world in 2021 and 2022, yet it continues to amaze us,” said Thilo Schulze, PhD researcher at Göttingen University.” It challenges our understanding of how animal bodies can be organized, and how such strange forms of reproduction are orchestrated at the molecular level.” With many aspects of branching worms’ reproductive biology still a mystery, the team hopes this new genetic resource will open the door to deeper investigations into how life evolves in unexpected directions – even in the hidden corners of our oceans.
Further details and short clips about this fascinating worm are available on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/MO1c23m6XkA, https://youtu.be/rwgil23MzyM, https://youtu.be/q2l_OgedY0I
Original publication: Ponz-Segrelles et al. (2025) Sex-specific differential gene expression during stolonization in the branching syllid Ramisyllis kingghidorahi (Annelida, Syllidae). BMC Genomics 2025. DOI: 10.1186/s12864-025-11587-w. Full text also available here: https://rdcu.be/ejnKq
Contact:
Professor Maria Teresa Aguado Molina
Scientific Curator Biodiversity Museum
University of Göttingen
Animal Evolution & Biodiversity
Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)551 39-25536
Email: aguadomolina@uni-goettingen.de
www.biodivmuseum.de/
www.uni-goettingen.de/en/623758.html
Dr Guillermo Ponz-Segrelles
IES El Burgo-Ignacio-Echeverría, 28231 Las Rozas de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Email: guillermo.ponz.segrelles@gmail.com
Tel: +34 (0)689402289
Thilo Schulze
University of Göttingen
Animal Evolution & Biodiversity
Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Tel: +49 (0)551 39-25419
Email: thilo.schulze@uni-goettingen.de
END
A head and a hundred tails: how a branching worm manages reproductive complexity
International research team led by Göttingen University produces genetic activity map for rare worm
2025-05-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Investment risk for energy infrastructure construction is highest for nuclear power plants, lowest for solar
2025-05-19
Between now and 2050, the International Energy Agency projects that more than $100 trillion will be spent on building net-zero energy infrastructure globally. Yet every single one of these projects runs the risk of higher-than-expected construction costs or time delays. Newer technologies introduced in the past decade, such as hydrogen or geothermal energy, are even more difficult to evaluate as government agencies, energy developers, utilities, investors, and other stakeholders decide which sustainable energy systems are best for future projects.
In a new state-of-the-art ...
Personality traits influence the development of insomnia
2025-05-19
A study conducted at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil examined the influence of personality traits on the development and perpetuation of insomnia and found that there is a direct relationship between the two. Two findings caught the researchers’ attention: high levels of openness were associated with low levels of insomnia, while high levels of neuroticism (characterized by emotional instability) were very common in people with the sleep disorder. The results were published in the Journal of Sleep Research.
“We decided ...
Controlling these 8 risk factors may eliminate early death risk for those with high blood pressure
2025-05-19
A new study led by researchers at Tulane University suggests that people with high blood pressure can significantly reduce — and possibly eliminate — their increased risk of premature death by controlling several key health risk factors at once.
The study, published in Precision Clinical Medicine, tracked more than 70,000 people with hypertension and over 224,000 without it, using data from the UK Biobank. Researchers followed participants for nearly 14 years to understand how managing these risk factors affected early mortality — ...
A groundbreaking discovery of a common master switch to cure Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other brain-related diseases
2025-05-19
The 21st edition of Sustainability Through Science and Technology Summit 2025 (SIPS 2025), dedicated to Prof. Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, to be held in Cebu, Philippines, from 17-20 November 2025, has confirmed the participation of Davis Joseph as an invited summit plenary lecturer for his recent ground-breaking discovery of the common master switch for numerous brain-related diseases.
Davis Joseph discovered something that could not be found in the entire scientific history of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s research: a common master switch that can potentially cure both these and other brain-related diseases ...
Novel data streaming software chases light speed from accelerator to supercomputer
2025-05-19
Analyzing massive datasets from nuclear physics experiments can take hours or days to process, but researchers are working to radically reduce that time to mere seconds using special software being developed at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge national laboratories.
DELERIA — short for Distributed Event-Level Experiment Readout and Integrated Analysis — is a novel software platform designed specifically to support the GRETA spectrometer, a cutting-edge instrument for nuclear physics experiments. The Gamma Ray Energy Tracking Array, or GRETA, ...
UK child sexual abuse survivors lack support - report
2025-05-19
Over 640 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in the UK have shared their stories in a global effort to raise awareness about the realities of sexual violence against children, the challenges of disclosure and recovery, and its enduring impact on their lives.
Their voices are amplified through a powerful report published by the Finnish child-rights organisation Protect Children in collaboration with the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI), part of Anglia Ruskin University in England.
At IPPPRI25 - the research institute’s annual conference dedicated to tackling online harms - on ...
Rice’s Mikos elected to the European Academy of Sciences
2025-05-19
HOUSTON – (May 19, 2025) – Antonios Mikos, the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University, has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC), an international body that recognizes excellence in scientific research and technological innovation.
A global leader in biomaterials and tissue engineering, Mikos is widely known for his groundbreaking work in regenerative medicine, controlled drug delivery, gene therapy and disease modeling. ...
Hari Kalva, Ph.D., inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame
2025-05-19
Hari Kalva, Ph.D., a pioneering innovator in video technology and professor and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been named a 2025 inductee of the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. Kalva is one of 10 inventors selected for the 2025 class, which spans disciplines from nanotech and regenerative medicine to clean energy and next-gen video systems.
Their work has defined new frontiers, advanced scientific breakthroughs, and embodied the spirit of innovation that drives Florida’s expanding landscape ...
Machine learning model helps identify patients at risk of postpartum depression
2025-05-19
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 15 percent of individuals after childbirth. Early identification of patients at risk of PPD could improve proactive mental health support. Mass General Brigham researchers developed a machine learning model that can evaluate patients’ PPD risk using readily accessible clinical and demographic factors. Findings demonstrating the model’s promising predictive capabilities are published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
“Postpartum depression is one of the biggest challenges that some parents may experience in the period after childbirth – a time ...
The US has a new most powerful laser
2025-05-19
Photos in the laser facility // Animated fly-through of the ZEUS laser system
The ZEUS laser facility at the University of Michigan has roughly doubled the peak power of any other laser in the U.S. with its first official experiment at 2 petawatts (2 quadrillion watts).
At more than 100 times the global electricity power output, this huge power lasts only for the brief duration of its laser pulse—just 25 quintillionths of a second long.
"This milestone marks the beginning of experiments that move into unexplored ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Study unexpectedly finds living in rural, rather than urban environments in first five years of life could be a risk factor for developing type 1 diabetes
Editorial urges deeper focus on heart-lung interactions in pulmonary vascular disease
Five University of Tennessee faculty receive Fulbright Awards
5 advances to protect water sources, availability
OU Scholar awarded Fulbright for Soviet cinema research
Brain might become target of new type 1 diabetes treatments
‘Shore Wars:’ New research aims to resolve coastal conflict between oysters and mangroves, aiding restoration efforts
Why do symptoms linger in some people after an infection? A conversation on post-acute infection syndromes
Study reveals hidden drivers of asthma flare-ups in children
Physicists decode mysterious membrane behavior
New insights about brain receptor may pave way for next-gen mental health drugs
Melanoma ‘sat-nav’ discovery could help curb metastasis
When immune commanders misfire: new insights into rheumatoid arthritis inflammation
SFU researchers develop a new tool that brings blender-like lighting control to any photograph
Pups in tow, Yellowstone-area wolves trek long distances to stay near prey
AI breakthrough unlocks 'new' materials to replace lithium-ion batteries
Making molecules make sense: A regional explanation method reveals structure–property relationships
Partisan hostility, not just policy, drives U.S. protests
The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: August 1, 2025
Young human blood serum factors show potential to rejuvenate skin through bone marrow
Large language models reshape the future of task planning
Narrower coverage of MS drugs tied to higher relapse risk
Researchers harness AI-powered protein design to enhance T-cell based immunotherapies
Smartphone engagement during school hours among US youths
Online reviews of health care facilities
MS may begin far earlier than previously thought
New AI tool learns to read medical images with far less data
Announcing XPRIZE Healthspan as Tier 5 Sponsor of ARDD 2025
Announcing Immortal Dragons as Tier 4 Sponsor of ARDD 2025
Reporting guideline for chatbot health advice studies
[Press-News.org] A head and a hundred tails: how a branching worm manages reproductive complexityInternational research team led by Göttingen University produces genetic activity map for rare worm