Study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution reveals how genome structure influences animal body plans
A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution is reshaping how scientists understand the relationship between genome organization and the evolution of animal body plans, and a Marian University researcher played a key role in the discovery.
Dr. Saoirse Foley, assistant professor of biology at Marian University, collaborated with an international team of scientists to examine how genes are regulated in echinoderms, a group of marine invertebrates that includes sea stars and sea urchins. The findings provide new insights into how genomes are spatially organized, how genes are regulated, and how those structures influence development across animal species.
Echinoderms occupy a unique position in evolution. Although invertebrates, they are the closest relatives of chordates, a group that includes vertebrates such as humans. This makes them an important model for studying which genetic regulatory mechanisms are ancient and which emerged later in evolution.
Using advanced genome sequencing and 3D mapping techniques, the research team generated near–chromosome-level genome assemblies for two key echinoderm species: the purple sea urchin and the bat star. These improved assemblies allowed researchers to more precisely identify genes and analyze how DNA is packaged, accessed, and interacts inside the cell nucleus.
One of the study’s major findings challenges assumptions about genome regulation. In vertebrates, a protein called CTCF plays a central role in organizing the genome’s three-dimensional structure. The study found that, despite their close relationship to chordates, echinoderms do not rely on CTCF in the same way, suggesting that this mechanism may be a vertebrate-specific evolutionary development.
The research also uncovered deeply conserved regulatory DNA elements shared across multiple animal groups. These elements are most active during early development, indicating that core genetic programs controlling body formation have remained stable over hundreds of millions of years.
Together, the findings provide a new framework for understanding how genome organization and gene regulation shape animal evolution—from marine invertebrates to humans—while highlighting Marian University’s role in globally impactful scientific research.