Many thanks to everyone who contributed — it was truly an incredible team effort. A real pleasure working with @tomlewin.bsky.social and @tosuke-s.bsky.social, and wonderful to close the circle together in Japan with Mayuko.

You can read our paper through this Share Link (available until December 27, 2025).
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m3mV3QW8S...

Synteny plots packed with detailed information can be hard to read. Here's a short animation showing how shared chromosomal fusions link phoronids and bryozoans.

Comparing phoronid and bryozoan genomes revealed seven irreversible "fusion-with-mixing" events—unique chromosomal signatures showing that phoronids and bryozoans are sister groups, finally resolving a century-old debate. (5/5)

To resolve this, we turned to genome structure. Together with colleagues in Japan and the UK, we sequenced the first chromosome-level phoronid genome using PacBio HiFi and 3D chromosome conformation (Hi-C). (4/5)

Within Lophotrochozoa, the relationships among these groups remained controversial. Phylogenomic studies have alternately placed bryozoans with entoprocts and cycliophorans—or as sisters to phoronids. Two competing hypotheses emerged: "Lophophorata" vs. "Polyzoa". (3/5)

For over a century, lophophorates were thought to be related to deuterostomes based on embryology. In 1995, Halanych et al. overturned this view, showing instead that they share a common ancestor with molluscs and annelids, forming the Lophotrochozoa. (2/5)

Some marine invertebrates have puzzled zoologists for over a century. Their features combine traits of very different animals—hard to classify by morphology or development. Among them is Lingula, a brachiopod Darwin called a "living fossil". (1/5)