Manasa Prahlad's paper featured on the cover of the Development journal
Graduate student Manasa Prahlad’s recent paper, “PBX-dependent and -independent Hox programs establish and maintain motor neuron terminal identity,” has been featured on the cover of the July 2026 issue of Development. The study reveals how distinct combinations of Hox genes and PBX co-factors interact with terminal selectors to establish and maintain motor neuron subtype identity in C. elegans.
PBX-dependent and -independent Hox programs establish and maintain motor neuron terminal identity
Manasa Prahlad, Weidong Feng, Ian Q. Weigle, Oyunsuvd Bat-Erdene, Yihan Chen, Filipe Marques, Paschalis Kratsios
Development 1 July 2026; 153 (13): dev205511. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.205511
PBX-dependent and -independent Hox programs establish and maintain motor neuron terminal identity
Manasa Prahlad, Weidong Feng, Ian Q. Weigle, Oyunsuvd Bat-Erdene, Yihan Chen, Filipe Marques, Paschalis Kratsios
Development 1 July 2026; 153 (13): dev205511. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.205511
The cellular basis of locomotor evolution: insights from larval insects
Annika Sharma, Samantha Swank, Elizabeth S Heckscher
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, Volume 69, 2026, 101657, ISSN 2352-1546, doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2026.101657.
Cell type-specific functions of the PBAF chromatin-remodeling complex in neuronal diversification
Anthony Osuma, Honorine Destain, Jessica Mann, Yinan Li, Manasa Prahlad, Ian Q. Weigle, Filipe Marques, Natalie Grace Schulz, Jayson J. Smith, Paschalis Kratsios.
Nature Communications. 2025 Dec 14. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-67434-9.
Anthony Osuma, CON student in the Kratsios lab, used the nematode C. elegans—a powerful model for uncovering basic biological rules—to discover that a major chromatin-remodeling machine called the PBAF complex plays a crucial role in creating neuronal diversity. The discovery is important not only for understanding how healthy brains develop but also for shedding light on human disease, as mutations in PBAF components cause serious neurodevelopmental disorders.
The Iroquois (Iro/Irx) homeobox genes are conserved Hox targets involved in motor neuron development
Catarina Catela, Stavroula Assimacopoulos, Yihan Chen, Konstantinos Tsioras, Weidong Feng, Paschalis Kratsios.
iScience, Volume 28, Issue 4, 2025. doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112210.
UNC-30/PITX coordinates neurotransmitter identity with postsynaptic GABA receptor clustering
Edgar Correa, Morgane Mialon, Mélissa Cizeron, Jean-Louis Bessereau, Berangere Pinan-Lucarre, Paschalis Kratsios.
Development (2024) 151 (16): dev202733. doi: https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.202733
A molecular atlas of adult C. elegans motor neurons reveals ancient diversity delineated by conserved transcription factor codes
Jayson J. Smith, Seth R. Taylor, Jacob A. Blum, Weidong Feng, Rebecca Collings, Aaron D. Gitler, David M. Miller III, Paschalis Kratsios.
Cell Reports. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113857
A C. elegans model of C9orf72-associated ALS/FTD uncovers a conserved role for eIF2D in RAN translation.
Sonobe Y, Aburas J, Krishnan G, Fleming AC, Ghadge G, Islam P, Warren EC, Gu Y, Kankel MW, Brown AEX, Kiskinis E, Gendron TF, Gao FB, Roos RP, Kratsios P.
Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 15;12(1):6025. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26303-x.
Translation of dipeptide repeat proteins in C9ORF72 ALS/FTD through unique and redundant AUG initiation codons.
Sonobe Y, Lee S, Krishnan G, Gu Y, Kwon DY, Gao FB, Roos RP, Kratsios P.
Elife. 2023 Sep 7;12:e83189. doi: 10.7554/eLife.83189.PMID: 37675986 Free PMC article.
Control of spinal motor neuron terminal differentiation through sustained Hoxc8 gene activity.
Catela C, Chen Y, Weng Y, Wen K, Kratsios P.
Elife. 2022 Mar 22;11:e70766. doi: 10.7554/eLife.70766.PMID: 35315772 Free PMC article.