Development in the sea is tough and can end in starvation. @tylerjcarrier.bsky.social @utehentschel.bsky.social &co show that #SeaUrchin eggs contain a #plastid -derived structure whose light-dependent activity influences metabolism, #development & survival @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4mOAxZh

Brilliant new paper by @tylerjcarrier.bsky.social on how plastid-derived structures help sea urchin development and dispersal. 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003705 @plosbiology.org @geomarkiel.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social

And another sponge #genome note from the Aquatic Symbiosis Genomics project! The large #sponge Geodia phlegraei, was sequenced by the Wellcome Sanger Institute. It can be found from Sweden/Norway to Canada in deep-sea boreal waters. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/11-...

ASG Sponges genome note #24. Xestospongia bergquistia, an IndoPacific giant barrel sponge described by Jane Fromont (1991), named in honour of the New Zealand sponge biologist, Patricia Bergquist, and submitted for genome sequencing by Sandie Degnan. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/11-...

The world needs more symbioses. Thanks @carmcdhume.bsky.social @symbiosky.bsky.social @microsky.bsky.social

📢📢📢Lectureships at Bristol!📢📢📢 We're hiring 3 x lecturers (=assistant professor) in Biological Sciences, across the discipline. Great department, great colleagues, great building, great city Details here: www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...

Oh my, potential sea star wasting in the Baltic!. Exciting and scary at the same time.

Interested in evolution, microbiota, and development? Then see the symposium in Glasgow below by @Tyler Carrier and Thomas Busch.

ASG Sponges genome note #23. The bread-crumb sponge Halichondria panicea is an emerging experimental model. With > 4800 publications, it is the most published species in the phylum Porifera. doi.org/10.12688/wel... @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social

ASG Sponges genome note #22. Geodia phlegraei is a deep water sponge of the North Atlantic. The genome is valuable for conservation of marine ecosystems. lnkd.in/eTZVzwYn @paccardenas.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #21. Aiolochroia crassa from Florida may look like bubble gum ice cream, but it is full of chemistry inside. lnkd.in/eFdscQ3C @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #20 on Haliclona indistincta from Ireland. Its name is derived from the paucity of defining characters. doi.org/10.12688/wel... @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #19. Geodia parva (Hansen, 1885), the first sponge genome from the Arctic. doi.org/10.12688/wel... @paccardenas.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social @geomarkiel.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

ASG Sponges genome note #18. This is really exciting: the first genome of a carnivorous sponge, Lycopodina hypogea, collected from submarine caves in France. lnkd.in/ePHQsUcF @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

🌈 Dive into the rainbow! The #I_SEA_RAINBOWS project is officially launched! Studying Oscarella sponges — their colors, diversity & climate resilience @univ-amu.fr. Huge thanks to the @agencerecherche.bsky.social for supporting this adventure! #MarineBiodiversity #ClimateResilience #Sponges

Different sponges #gili #giliislands #lombok #diving #scuba #trawangan #diveandstay #giliair #fish #ocean #sealife #marinelife #padi #reef #sponges

Marine #sponges are generally considered biosynthetic "hotspots" (e.g. Theonella) - but does this always hold true? In our newest study led by @stephenjackson.bsky.social we are looking at Inflatella pellicula's biosynthetic capacity - and our results are surprising doi.org/10.1099/mgen...

Actus Mer/Sea News: Geochemical-mineralogical analysis of ferromanganese oxide precipitated on porifera in the MAGELLAN seamount, western Pacific - @FrontMarineSci http://dlvr.it/SgTlJL

OH WOW! A whole web page DEVOTED to SPONGE SPICULE Imagery ! #porifera #spongeThursday www.spicules.org

#ERGAReads | Integrative #phylogenomics positions sponges at the root of the animal tree 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧬 #porifera #sponges #phylogenomics

Swab, Wipe, & Rinse. "Our results suggest that early sponges were not biomineralized & that both biosilicification & biocalcification evolved independently multiple times across Porifera." Neat!

The marine conservation group @hifmb.de is looking for a postdoc and a Phd student to study coral genomics and conservation genetics. Join us to develop solutions for coral conservation and dive into the world of early branching metazoans: Deadlines coming up fast. jobs.awi.de/Vacancies/21...

#GEOMARJobs 🌊Postdoctoral scientist position (m/f/d) in the movement ecology of non commercial fish 🌊Postdoctoral position (m/f/d) in movement ecology and digital twins 🌊Zwei Ausbildungsplätze zum:zur Chemielaborant:in (m/w/d) 🔗 www.geomar.de/karriere-cam...

Want to study connectivity of brownalgal populations & carbon budgets in the Baltic Sea? Join our #ROVKA team within the new algal adaptation group led by @lies-nerd.bsky.social at @geomarkiel.bsky.social in collaboration with @bfn-de.bsky.social and @univie.ac.at, www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...

Ulisse Cardini"s talk had something interesting for everyone. Biggest audience so far in RD3 Marine Ecology. And nicest images.

ASG Sponges genome note #17. This little glass sponge, Bolosoma cyanae, traveled a long way from the deep South Pacific Ocean to Hinxton/Cambridge, where its genome was sequenced. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/11-24 Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

The New Year is off to a great start with ASG Sponges genome note #16 on Phakellia ventilabrum, a fan-shaped sponge common in the North Atlantic. Great work by Sergi Taboada & team. lnkd.in/eXG6R-FV Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

It was my great pleasure to speak about "Emerging Marine Diseases" at the Ocean and Human Health Conference in Lisbon today. #OceanDecade #oceandecade

The long awaited DAAD Master's Student Exchange Kick-Off meeting today with the University Tecnico Lisboa, Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences was a full success. Thanks to Tina Keller-Costa, Rodrigo Costa, Kristina Bayer, #DAAD Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst.

It’s finally out! Our paper on the bacterial symbionts of three White Sea sponges is here. A story that began in 2016 has reached its last chapter… or has it? We hope that by the time you finish our hefty tome — maybe around 2034 — we’ll release the sequel. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

🧽 Time to dive into more sponge genomes! 🌊🧬 EBP-affiliated projects are assembling never-before-sequenced sponge species and adding them to public genome databases. These efforts are unlocking exciting new avenues in evolution, symbiosis, and marine biotechnology.

Here's a new sponge genome and the associated metagenomes! lopez-lab.net/2025/08/30/c...

The first batch of #sponge #genome notes are now out! 🥳 from the 'Wellcome Open Research' publishing platform: Aplysina aerophoba, Crambe crambe, Chondrosia reniformis, Aphrocallistes beatrix, Eunapius fragilis, Spongilla lacustris...

From 1 genome for 15 years to 50+ hologenomes! Big moment in sponge evolutionary biology, and for understanding early animal evolution and host-microbe symbiosis!

Genome-scale metabolic modelling reveals interactions and key roles of symbiont clades in a sponge holobiont ->Nature | More info from EcoSearch

Chromosomal level sponge Diacarnus erythraeanus whole genome published. Congrats to Laura Steindler and the ASG Photosymbiosis hub. lopez-lab.net/2025/08/30/c...

Jose V. Lopez follows at the #biodiversity25 presenting about the giant barrel #sponge genome. We are facing massive extinction event in marine reefs so we need to study sponges before they disappear. Sponges have distinctive #symbiotic microbiomes providing important ecosystem services.

Say hello to our next set of members of the organizing committee for the Larval Biology Society! Get to know Shawn M. Arellano and Tyler Carrier!

🚨 In case you missed it… our 4-year time-series analysis of Arctic Ocean viruses is out now! Near-monthly samples — including through the dark, cold, polar winter ❄️ — using long-read metagenomics. Short thread 🧵👇

We are welcoming applications for a full professorship on Molecular and Evolutionary Zoology at Kiel Univerdity, Northern Germany, with fantastic facilities and infrastructure! @uni-kiel.de @crc1182.bsky.social @transevo.bsky.social www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Zombie cells in the ocean, a perfect topic for Halloween here at RD3 of GEOMAR. Great talk by @janbruewer.bsky.social it was great to have you here.

And here comes ASG Sponges genome note #15 for Corticium candelabrum, only the second genome for the class Homoscleromorpha, led by Manuel Maldonado, @lpita.bsky.social et al. lnkd.in/e-huUn3i Learn more: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW @moorefound.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social

This promises to be interesting!

Interesting work on understudied sponge symbionts from the Arctic.

Genome note #14 on a sponge with a difficult name, Diacarnus erythraeanus, by Laura Steindler and team. A total of 9,758 sponge species have formally been described (WoRMS, as of Sept 2025) and the true diversity is still much higher. lnkd.in/eaGnwXFA lnkd.in/ehRap3CW

Genome note #13 on the Maltese sponge Agelas oroides,led by M Maldonado and L Pita. This massive sponge is threatened by climate change. wellcomeopenresearch.org/articles/10-... Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW #GordonandBettyMooreFoundation #WellcomeSangerInstitute

Genome note # 12 on the bath sponge, Spongia lamella, led by #RodrigoCosta, Thierry Perez & teams. Bath sponges boast over 5000 years of cultural heritage and were already used by the ancient Roman soldiers for personal hygiene. lnkd.in/egRNPKMJ #GordonBettyMooreFoundation, #WellcomeSanger

Genome Note #11 on Petrosia ficiformis, one of the few sponges with intracellular symbionts, by Laura Steindler & team. lnkd.in/eVFW_sMH Learn more about the absorbing world of sponges: lnkd.in/ehRap3CW #GordonBettyMooreFoundation, #WellcomeSanger

Soaking up lots of love for sponges! We’re proud to be sponsoring the World Sponge Conference in Portugal, kicking off five weeks from today. Click here to see the programme: worldspongecommunity.com/program/ #WSC2025 📸 Sponges of the SE Pacific. Schmidt Ocean Institute @wscommunity.bsky.social