The goal of this lab is to understand the origin of animal multicellularity from a unicellular ancestor. To this end, the genomes of animals’ closest unicellular relatives are obtained in order to perform comparative and functional genomics. Moreover, the Multicellgenome lab is working on the development of genetic tools in two close unicellular relatives of animals with the purpose of establishing them as model organisms for addressing the origin of Metazoa. This will enable the elucidation of the ancestral function of the genes involved in multicellularity and offer insight into how they were co-opted.

Lab website: Multicellgenome Lab