Giacomo Gattoni
@giacomogattoni.bsky.social
Postdoctoral researcher in the Tosches lab at Columbia Uni | PhD in the Benito-Gutiérrez lab at Cambridge Uni | #Embryo2022 | Interested in and enchanted by brain evolution 🧠
Pinned
Excited to share our latest work on brain evolution, where we dive into the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells! If you are interested in cell type evolution and cerebral cortex evo-devo, please read on… www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 1/7
Evolution of Cajal-Retzius Cells in Vertebrates from an Ancient Class of Tp73+ Neurons
In the developing cerebral cortex, Cajal Retzius (CR) cells are early-born neurons that orchestrate the development of mammalian-specific cortical features. However, this cell type has not been conclu...
www.biorxiv.org
Wanna learn more about the origin and evolution of a really cool cell type AND look at the brains of chicken, salamander, zebrafish, bichir and skate, all in one paper? 🧠🧬🤩
Check out our new preprint on the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells, led by Eli Gumnit!!
Check out our new preprint on the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells, led by Eli Gumnit!!
Reposted by Giacomo Gattoni
Job alert! 📣 I’m looking for a research assistant to join my new team @idrm.ox.ac.uk
Were using #zebrafish to understand gene-environment interactions that shape the heart 🫀generate natural diversity 🐸🐭 and contribute to congenital defects ❤️🩹
Full info below, and please share! 🫶🏻
bit.ly/467TO0M
Were using #zebrafish to understand gene-environment interactions that shape the heart 🫀generate natural diversity 🐸🐭 and contribute to congenital defects ❤️🩹
Full info below, and please share! 🫶🏻
bit.ly/467TO0M
February 2, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Job alert! 📣 I’m looking for a research assistant to join my new team @idrm.ox.ac.uk
Were using #zebrafish to understand gene-environment interactions that shape the heart 🫀generate natural diversity 🐸🐭 and contribute to congenital defects ❤️🩹
Full info below, and please share! 🫶🏻
bit.ly/467TO0M
Were using #zebrafish to understand gene-environment interactions that shape the heart 🫀generate natural diversity 🐸🐭 and contribute to congenital defects ❤️🩹
Full info below, and please share! 🫶🏻
bit.ly/467TO0M
I am thrilled to share our collaborative work @amphispacelab.bsky.social on the evolution of FoxQ2 genes, now out in @commsbio.nature.com! 🧬🥳
Thank you so much to everyone involved! 🤩 And please feel free to reach out if you have any question or comment!
Thank you so much to everyone involved! 🤩 And please feel free to reach out if you have any question or comment!
How does a conserved transcription factor evolve? Phylogenetic and molecular analyses uncover three ancient FoxQ2 paralogs. @giacomogattoni.bsky.social @amphispacelab.bsky.social
Learn more in this new Communications Biology article www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Learn more in this new Communications Biology article www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Evolutionary dynamics of FoxQ2 transcription factors across metazoans reveals three ancient paralogs - Communications Biology
Phylogenetic and molecular analyses uncover three ancient FoxQ2 paralogs: FoxQ2I/II with conserved roles in anterior ectoderm specification, and FoxQ2III showing unexpected expression in specialized r...
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:20 PM
I am thrilled to share our collaborative work @amphispacelab.bsky.social on the evolution of FoxQ2 genes, now out in @commsbio.nature.com! 🧬🥳
Thank you so much to everyone involved! 🤩 And please feel free to reach out if you have any question or comment!
Thank you so much to everyone involved! 🤩 And please feel free to reach out if you have any question or comment!
Reposted by Giacomo Gattoni
1/ 🐣⚒️ To study mechanics, we need to apply prescribed forces - how can we do that in living tissues? I am @eigenp.bsky.social and in this thread I'll highlight our new approach for applying tension on epithelial tissues in vivo!
October 12, 2025 at 12:51 PM
1/ 🐣⚒️ To study mechanics, we need to apply prescribed forces - how can we do that in living tissues? I am @eigenp.bsky.social and in this thread I'll highlight our new approach for applying tension on epithelial tissues in vivo!
Reposted by Giacomo Gattoni
🤩 Join us for the next TIBBE seminar:
Evolution of brain cell types.
September 10, 2–3pm UTC
This event brings together 2 outstanding evolutionary and developmental neuroscientists who will present their work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/evolution-...
Evolution of brain cell types.
September 10, 2–3pm UTC
This event brings together 2 outstanding evolutionary and developmental neuroscientists who will present their work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/evolution-...
September 4, 2025 at 2:28 PM
🤩 Join us for the next TIBBE seminar:
Evolution of brain cell types.
September 10, 2–3pm UTC
This event brings together 2 outstanding evolutionary and developmental neuroscientists who will present their work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/evolution-...
Evolution of brain cell types.
September 10, 2–3pm UTC
This event brings together 2 outstanding evolutionary and developmental neuroscientists who will present their work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/evolution-...
Wanna learn more about the origin and evolution of a really cool cell type AND look at the brains of chicken, salamander, zebrafish, bichir and skate, all in one paper? 🧠🧬🤩
Check out our new preprint on the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells, led by Eli Gumnit!!
Check out our new preprint on the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells, led by Eli Gumnit!!
Excited to share our latest work on brain evolution, where we dive into the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells! If you are interested in cell type evolution and cerebral cortex evo-devo, please read on… www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 1/7
Evolution of Cajal-Retzius Cells in Vertebrates from an Ancient Class of Tp73+ Neurons
In the developing cerebral cortex, Cajal Retzius (CR) cells are early-born neurons that orchestrate the development of mammalian-specific cortical features. However, this cell type has not been conclu...
www.biorxiv.org
August 26, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Wanna learn more about the origin and evolution of a really cool cell type AND look at the brains of chicken, salamander, zebrafish, bichir and skate, all in one paper? 🧠🧬🤩
Check out our new preprint on the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells, led by Eli Gumnit!!
Check out our new preprint on the evolution of Cajal-Retzius cells, led by Eli Gumnit!!
Buon 25 Aprile!
On this day we celebrate the efforts and victory of the Italian resistance movement, and the liberation of Italy from fascism and from Nazi occupation! 🎉
On this day we celebrate the efforts and victory of the Italian resistance movement, and the liberation of Italy from fascism and from Nazi occupation! 🎉
April 25, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Buon 25 Aprile!
On this day we celebrate the efforts and victory of the Italian resistance movement, and the liberation of Italy from fascism and from Nazi occupation! 🎉
On this day we celebrate the efforts and victory of the Italian resistance movement, and the liberation of Italy from fascism and from Nazi occupation! 🎉
New preprint from my PhD in @amphispacelab.bsky.social is out! 🥳
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
Evolutionary dynamics of FoxQ2 transcription factors across metazoans: A tale of three ancient paralogs
FoxQ2 is a highly conserved class of Forkhead-box transcription factors expressed on the anterior side of the body in cnidarians and bilaterians. Despite this conserved expression pattern, recent phyl...
tinyurl.com
April 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM
New preprint from my PhD in @amphispacelab.bsky.social is out! 🥳
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
We investigated the evolution of my favorite gene FoxQ2 across 21 animal phyla, and found three ancient paralogs with a very dynamic history.
More on phylogeny, synteny, and comparative in situs in the 🧵 below!
tinyurl.com/2j96px45
For my first post on 🦋, I am incredibly excited to share that my PhD paper has been published in #ScienceAdvances!
We compared the development of the anterior neuroectoderm to uncover how the chordate #forebrain evolved 🧠. Have a look at the summary 🧵 below!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We compared the development of the anterior neuroectoderm to uncover how the chordate #forebrain evolved 🧠. Have a look at the summary 🧵 below!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An ancient apical patterning system sets the position of the forebrain in chordates
A conserved Wnt-regulated molecular signature sets forebrain position and identity in chordates.
www.science.org
January 27, 2025 at 5:22 PM
For my first post on 🦋, I am incredibly excited to share that my PhD paper has been published in #ScienceAdvances!
We compared the development of the anterior neuroectoderm to uncover how the chordate #forebrain evolved 🧠. Have a look at the summary 🧵 below!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
We compared the development of the anterior neuroectoderm to uncover how the chordate #forebrain evolved 🧠. Have a look at the summary 🧵 below!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Giacomo Gattoni
Neural crest of Xenopus embryos labelled with nuclear GFP
December 11, 2024 at 8:12 PM
Neural crest of Xenopus embryos labelled with nuclear GFP