iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#Evolution can innovate without inventing. Cell type families can retain ancient regulatory “vocabularies”, while individual cell types evolve by reshuffling how those motifs are combined. @natecoevo.nature.com New cell types from old regulatory words. We like this! doi.org/10.1038/s415...

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A new sea urchin joins the evo-devo toolkit! Great to see Mespilia globulus established as a new model. @ferdix.bsky.social @elife.bsky.social One model can reveal a specific mechanism. Multiple models can reveal how evolution works. elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We have a new branch in the family tree of animals: Atreyea- a previously unrecognized lineage among the closest unicell relatives of animals. Led by @konsmitsi.bsky.social & @freejakoba.bsky.social together with a fantastic team of collaborators. 🔗 papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... #protistsOnSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Very grateful to have been part of such a special and emotional day celebrating Sara Bray & Nick Brown at their Retirement Symposium. Two outstanding scientists and, even more importantly, truly wonderful people. Thank you, Sara and Nick, for such a memorable day! #protistsOnSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Did cell types exist before animals? What if the first cell types evolved before the first animals? We'll use #ichthyosporeans, tiny microbes with the potential to reshape how we think about animal origins. #ProtistsOnSKy @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es 🧵

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Most people have never heard of #apusomonads. Yet these tiny protists occupy an important position in the eukaryotic tree of life. And we know so little about them! We're looking for a Master's student to help uncover their hidden diversity. #ProtistsOnSky 🧵 @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

1/9 For years, debates about microbial biogeography have sometimes been framed as a choice. Either microorganisms are everywhere. Or geography matters. But what if that is a false choice? @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @icreacommunity.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es #protistsOnSKy

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

1/10 For decades, cellular aggregation was considered an evolutionary dead end. Cells could come together temporarily. But complex multicellular organisms like animals? Our study, led by JP Gerdt, with Ruibao & @jennahed.bsky.social suggests it may be time to rethink that🧵 #ProtistsOnSKy

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

1/11 When we think about learning, we think about brains. Neurons. Animals. But what if learning began much earlier? Our paper in PRXLife, led by @maorknak.bsky.social explores whether a unicell relative of animals can use environmental cues to anticipate future stress. 🧵 Link: go.aps.org/4vAU56R

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

1/8 Inside your body lies something ancient. Our @pnas.org paper uncovers the deep unicellular prehistory of blood cell types. See paper and video. @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @icreacommunity.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es @csicdivulga.bsky.social pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Some organisms can’t be cultured. For most of our “Magnificent 8” 🧬, we don’t even know what they look like. So we go cell by cell, using single-cell genomics to recover their genomes. @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @icreacommunity.bsky.social @csicdivulga.bsky.social @csic.es

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

We know somewhere lie the closest relatives of animals we still haven’t discovered. Marina & Alicia presenting our search for the unknown #Magnificent8 at #ProtistologyOpen2026! @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @icreacommunity.bsky.social @csic.es #protistsonsky #multicellularity

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

#Ichthyosporea are not just the 5–6 species we and others have helped establish as models. Our recent synthesis suggests that ~95% of their species-level diversity remains uncultivated. In other words, we still know only a fraction of the map! #protistsonSky @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

link 👉https://pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2529738123 @pnas.org We also directly detected plasmalogens in our beloved Chromosphaera perkinsii and Capsaspora. #ichthyosporeans #holozoans #protistsonSky #LGT @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @icreacommunity.bsky.social @csic.es

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Many cellular innovations later used by animals were assembled long before animals evolved.We show that aerobic plasmalogen biosynthesis likely entered eukaryotes early from Myxobacteria, highlighting how bacterial genes shaped the cellular landscape from which animals emerged. 🧬✨ #protistsOnSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

In this review we map the journey to animal multicellularity and define three extinct ancestral stages: 🔹 LUAA: Last Unicellular Animal Ancestor. 🔹 FACA: First Animal Common Ancestor. 🔹 LACA: Last Animal Common Ancestor. Check it out: bit.ly/4azuLVY @embojournal.org

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Happy Valentine’s Day 💘 20 years ago we fell for a lineage nobody was studying. Still in love. Still discovering. #ichthyosporeans #LoveIsInTheCell 🧬 #protistsonSky @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es @icreacommunity.bsky.social

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

🎓Gonzalo defended his PhD on #Capsaspora aggregation & animal origins. Privilege to co-supervise with Koryu—watching a former trainee mentor the next generation is so cool! Thanks Núria, Nick & Cristina for the stimulating discussion! @icreacommunity.bsky.social @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

📱Is the origin of animals comparable to the origin of the smartphones? Yes! See our new review in @embojournal.org where we show how important it was the new "Operating System" (animalOS)for animals to evolve! with @ricardsole.bsky.social, Nick and Elena @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @csic.es @prbb.org

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

What you're looking at is a brand new protist species! 🤯🔬 Isn't it beautiful? This image is just a glimpse of what's to come. We can't wait to share our full findings soon, in partnership with Guifré @beaplab.bsky.social @luisjagago.bsky.social. Stay tuned! #NewSpecies #protistsonSky #diversity

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

More on the ancient foundation of animal development. Coyle & King illustrate how core regulatory modules were present in our pre-animal ancestors. The key was not invention, but recycling & new protein interactions. #CellBiology #multicellularity #protistsOnSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

We couldn't imagine a better way to send off the incredible @MartonaAlvarez than with black paella and sea views! 🥘 Marta, thanks for everything! We will be cheering you on every step of the way. 🥰🥰🥰 #science #farewell #newbeginnings #teamwork #academialife @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

THANK YOU SO MUCH, @martaalvarez.bsky.social! For your groundbreaking work on #protists, your incredible talent, your passion, and your kindness. We've loved every moment of these last 29 months with you in the lab! 🥰🥰 . #WomenInSTEM @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es #protistsOnsky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 24/08/2025

Sometimes life and science give you a 🎁 gift! Thanks, @freejakoba.bsky.social, for the visit! #academialife

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

That's a wrap on a brilliant #multicellularity symposium at #icop25 organized by Elena, Rubén & Guifré ! 👏 Cool to have so many familiar faces and hearing amazing talks from Núria, @GonzolinBS, Michelle & Tristan, So much great #protists #multicellularity science! 🔬🧬 #protistsOnSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

The quest for the #Magnificent8 continues! This time, in search of Freship1 and Freship2 in Lago de Sanabria. See Marina, Alicia, and Rubén in action! Thanks to Antonio from proyectoagua; Juan and David from Europarques & many others! #ProtistsOnSky @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Four friends, one table with views & endless conversations. From family to XAN, platyhelminthes, and the good old days at @geneticsub.bsky.social @riutortlab.bsky.social ! nothing was off the menu. Grateful for nights like this. Grateful for friends like these! @martaalvarez.bsky.social JordiPaps

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Did changes in cosmic radiation have any effect in the origin of animals? Does a reduction in cosmic radiation affect extant #ichthyosporeans? David & Elena presenting our experimental evolution project to Laboratorio Subterráneo Canfranc #animalorigins #protistsonSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

Great #protistsOnSky day at Águilas, we 📘 presented the book "Hola Plancton" from Kristina Heldmann. 🖼️ presented the exhibition "Plankton City" lead by @annikaguse.bsky.social 🧬 introduced our work on the #Magnificent8, our missing unicellular relatives.

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

😻 HUGE NEWS! One of the "Magnificent 8" – key missing lineages for understanding animal origins – is ALIVE in our lab! Watch the video! Massive thanks to @luisjagago.bsky.social (isolation wizard!) & @beaplab.bsky.social @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social @prbb.org @csic.es @erc.europa.eu #protistsonSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Could animals have originally evolved by cell aggregation? we believe they could!. See two different relatives of animals aggregating and deploying key multicellular genes. Nice collaboration with JP Gerdt, T. Alarcón, koryu_kin, Ruibao, Gonzalo, @jennahed.bsky.social & Kyle. #protistsonSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

So inspired by the enthusiasm, positivity & dedication of Marina & Alicia! ✨ This duo is priceless! Merging experimental insights 👩‍🔬 and bioinformatics power 💻, they give me full confidence in our quest for the #Magnificent8 lineages. #WomenInSTEM #PhDLife @ibe-barcelona.bsky.social #protistsonSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

🧬✨ Did you know that, among the 4 unicellular cousins of animals we can grow in the lab, Filasterea and Corallochytrea are still the least understood? In our lab we’re digging into their genomes and cell biologies 🔍 to uncover the clues they hold about how first evolved. #ProtistsonSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Watching Semana Santa processions, we were inspired by the incredible strength and determination of the men and women carrying massive floats—if they can do that, why can’t we persevere until we find the #Magnificent8, those elusive lineages key to animal origins? #protistsonSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Interesting hypothesis that the bilaterian hindgut evolved from a male gonopore. Cool! congrats @hejnol.bsky.social and authors! #evolution

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Nice pictures of Euglena gracilis organelles and cytoskeleton using expansion microscopy. #protistsonSky www.life-science-alliance.org/content/8/4/...

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

"The regulatory program of PRCs evolved by integrating a pre-existing core photoreceptor machinery under the regulation of the same TFs." Nice evolutionary study on PRCs and the evolution of vision! #metazoans Congrats @robertofeuda.bsky.social and the rest of authors!

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

We continue our mission to find the Magnificent 8 !🧪 8 elusive lineages closely related to animals yet to be discovered. 🧬 See Guifré, Núria & friends from Garcés lab sampling in freshwater habitats less than 2-hour drive from the lab! @prbb.org @csic.es @ercresearch.bsky.social #protistsonsky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Wonderful to welcome the great Alicia S. Arroyo and her family! So many good memories of her PhD and her fantastic work. Thank you, Alicia—such a joy to see you thriving! #academialife

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Fantastic #Sinergia retreat on #animalorigins! A day packed with #multicellularity #ichthyosporeans & #choanoflagellates —capped with a Swiss-style finale 🧬🇨🇭

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

🧬🦠 Exciting new resource for #protists lovers! The eKOI database to expand the power of COI metabarcoding with a focus on #protistsonsky & integrated in @pr2-database.bsky.social Lead by Rubén with @beaplab.bsky.social @fonamental.bsky.social @daniel-vaulot.bsky.social Link: t.co/3lqzRaFw9V

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

This experimental evolution project on one of our beloved #ichthyosporeans is now done. We will soon analyze the data! Stay tuned. #protistsonsky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Super happy to have been involved with the great Jordi Paps & @martaalvarez.bsky.social in this project. Using genome-wide data, we show #Xenacoelomorpha to be the sister-group to the rest of Bilateria.

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Very cool & relevant work. Sox & POU present in the unicellular ancestor or animals and choanoflagellate Sox proteins functionally replacing mammalian Sox2. Now the question is: what are those Sox and POU doing in those organisms? Congrats to all authors! #ProtistsOnSky

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

The new program of Evolutionary Medical Genomics, lead by @mirimiam.bsky.social, and shared between our Institute, CRG & UPF will hold its 1st symposium next week. Our work on unicellular relatives of animals and tumorigenesis will be represented by Yosuke. Link: evomedgenomics.com/events/inaug...

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Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo @multicellgenome.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

A lot to like in this work. A lot! Larval #settlement, single-cell analyses of 3! different cnidarians (we love comparative biology!), and a model for settlement regulation! Amazing! Congrats to all authors! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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