The Colonial Tunicate Botryllus schlosseri
The Voskoboynik Lab studies how stem cells and immune cells co-evolve to mediate development, organogenesis, aging, and self non-self recognition, using the colonial marine species Botryllus schlosseri.
Featured Publications
Human’s closest marine invertebrate relative gives insight into the evolution of neurodegenerative disorders
Read the article on this paper at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine website.
Sexual and asexual development: Two distinct programs producing the same tunicate
Read the article on this paper at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine website.
John Steinbeck on Botryllus schlosseri colonies:
"Each member of the colony is an individual animal, but the colony is another individual animal, not at all like the sum of its individuals. Here are two animals, yet the same thing. Which is the animal, the colony or the individual? . . . Why it's two animals and they aren't alike any more than the cells of my body are like me."
—The Log from the Sea of Cortez