Prof Uri Frank
Professor in Biochemistry
Wellcome & SFI Investigator and EMBO Member
uri.frank@universityofgalway.ie
Frank Lab Website

Ábhair Spéise

  • Bitheolaíocht Forbartha
  • Gaschealla & Cillchumas
  • Athghiniúint Fíocháin

Achoimre Taighde

We study how cells make decisions during development and regeneration using molecular genetics, genomics, imaging, and functional studies. For our research, we use the cnidarian Hydractinia as a model system. This animal has quite unique biological features and can be manipulated with relative ease. 

Hydractinia is a clonal and colonial animal. Embryos develop within three days into a swimming larva called planula. Upon metamorphosis, which takes 24 hours, they transform into the adult form called a polyp.

Polyps are sessile (we grow them on microscope glass slides). Upon metamorphosis, they start making genetic copies of themselves by asexual budding, forming a colony of genetically identical individuals (i.e. a clone).

Hydractinia possesses adult stem cells, known as i-cells. These cells are thought to contribute to all somatic lineages of the animal and to germ cells. i-cells are a major focus of our work.

The neural network of an adult Hydractinia polyp. RFamide stained in green.

We study how they make different cell types like neurons and gametes. i-cells can migrate in the tissues and are recruited to major injury sites where they contribute to regeneration.

Eochairfhocail

Gaschealla, Nideog, Comharthaíocht, Difreáil, Dídhifreáil, PLURIPOTENCY, iCealla, Hydractinia, Léarscáil Géine, Tosca Thras-scríofa, Athghiniúint.

Baill an Ghrúpa

  • Dr Yasmine Lund-Ricard (Post-Doc)
  • Dr Matthew Travert (Post-Doc)
  • Rowan Mac Gabhann (PhD)
  • Paris Weavers (PhD)
  • Paula Hillenbrand (PhD)
  • Mary Liza Gannon (PhD)
  • Cian Lawless (RA & MSc)

Croítheichníochtaí Taighde

  • Láimhsiú Fíocháin
  • Micreascópacht Fluaraiseach
  • Bithfháisnéisíocht
  • Genome Editing & Transgenesis
  • In-situ Hybridisation

Foilseacháin Roghnaithe

  • Curantz C, Krasovec G, Horkan HR, Ryan LM, Varley A, Frank U (2025). An unexpected mode of whole-body regeneration from reaggregated cell suspension in Hydractinia (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa). bioRxiv.
  • Salamanca-Díaz, DA, Horkan HR, García-Castro H, Emili E, Salinas-Saavedra M, Rossi ME, Álvarez-Presas M, Mac Gabhann R, Febrimarsa, Pérez-Posada A, Kenny NJ, Paps J, Frank, U, Solana J. (2025). The Hydractinia cell atlas reveals cellular and molecular principles of cnidarian coloniality. Nature Communications 16, 2121.
  • Curantz C, Doody C, Krasovec G, Weavers PK, DuBuc TQ, Frank U (2025). A positive feedback loop between germ cells and gonads induces and maintains sexual reproduction in a cnidarian. Science Advances 11(2):1-9.
  • Admoni Y, Fridrich A, Weavers PK, Aharoni R, Razin T, Salinas-Saavedra M, Rabani M, Frank U, Moran Y. (2025). Target complementarity in cnidarians supports a common origin for animal and plant microRNAs. EMBO Reports 26: 836 – 859.
  • Krasovec G, Frank U. (2024). Apoptosis-dependent head development during metamorphosis of the cnidarian Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus. Developmental Biology 516: 148-154.
  • Schnitzler CE, Chang ES, Waletich J, Quiroga-Artigas G, Wong WY, Nguyen AD, Barreira S, Doonan LB, Gonzalez P, Koren S, Gahan J, Sanders S, Bradshaw B, DuBuc T, Febrimarsa F, de Jong D, Nawrocki E, Larson A, Klasfeld S, Gornik S, Moreland RT, Wolfsberg T, Phillippy AM, Mullikin J, Simakov O, Cartwright P, Nicotra M, Frank U, Baxevanis AD (2024). The genome of the colonial hydroid Hydractinia reveals their stem cells utilize a toolkit of evolutionarily shared genes with all animals. Genome Research 25;34(3):498-513.
  • Febrimarsa, Gornik SG, Barreira SN, Salinas-Saavedra M, Schnitzler CE, Baxevanis AD, Frank U (2023). Randomly incorporated genomic 6mA delays zygotic transcription initiation in a cnidarian. The EMBO Journal 42(15) e112934.
  • Salinas-Saavedra M, Febrimarsa, Krasovec G, Horkan HR, Baxevanis AD, Frank U (2023). Senescence-induced cellular reprogramming drives cnidarian whole-body regeneration. Cell Reports 42(7).
  • Varley A, Horkan HR, McMahon ET, Krasovec G, Frank U (2023). Pluripotent, germ cell competent adult stem cells underlie cnidarian regenerative ability and clonal growth. Current Biology 33 (10):1883–1892. Cover article. Dispatch.
  • Kon-Nanjo K, Kon T, Horkan HR, Febrimarsa, Frank U, Simakov O (2023). A chromosome-level genome assembly of Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding. G3 13(8) jkad107.
  • Fridrich A, Salinas-Saavedra M, Kozlovski I, Surm JM, Chrysostomou E, Abhinandan M Tripathi AM, Frank U, Moran Y. (2023). A pan-cnidarian microRNA is an ancient biogenesis regulator of stinging cells. Cell Reports 42(9) 113072.
  • Török A, Browne, MJG, Vilar JC, Patwal I, DuBuc TQ, Febrimarsa, Acheson, Frank U, Gornik SG, Flaus A. (2023). Hydrozoan sperm-specific SPKK motif-containing histone H2B variants stabilise chromatin with limited compaction. Development 150 (1).
  • Chrysostomou E, Flici H, Gornik SG, Salinas-Saavedra M, Gahan JM, McMahon ET, Thompson K, Hanley S, Kilcoyne M, Schnitzler CE, Gonzalez P, Baxevanis AD, Frank U (2022). A cellular and molecular analysis of SoxB-driven neurogenesis in a cnidarian. eLife.
  • Chrysostomou E, Febrimarsa, DuBuc T, Frank U (2022). Methods for gene manipulation in Hydractinia. Methods in Molecular Biology.
  • Frank U, Nicotra ML, Schnitzler CE (2020). The colonial cnidarian Hydractinia. EvoDevo 11:.
  • DuBuc TQ, Schnitzler CE, Chrysostomou E, McMahon ET, Febrimarsa, Gahan JM, Buggie T, Gornik SG, Hanley S, Barreira SN, Gonzalez, P, Baxevanis AD, Frank U (2020). Transcription factor AP2 controls cnidarian germ cell induction. Science 367: 757-762.
  • Funayama N, Frank U (2019). Meeting Report on “At the Roots of Bilaterian Complexity: Insights from Early Emerging Metazoans,” Tutzing (Germany) September 16-19, 2019. Bioessays e1900236.
  • Sanders SM, Ma Z, Hughes JM, Riscoe BM, Gibson GA, Watson AM, Flici H, Frank U, Schnitzler CE, Baxevanis AD, Nicotra, ML (2018). CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knockin in the hydroid Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus. BMC Genomics 19(1):649.
  • Flici H, Frank U (2018). Inhibition of SoxB2 or HDACs suppresses Hydractinia head regeneration by affecting blastema formation. Communicative & Integrative Biology e1450032.
  • Ballarin L, Rinkevich B, Bartscherer K, Burzynski A, Cambier S, Cammarata M, Domart-Coulon I, Drobne D, Encinas J, Frank U et al (2018). Maristem—Stem Cells of Marine/Aquatic Invertebrates: From Basic Research to Innovative Applications. Sustainability 10(2):526.
  • Gahan JM, Schnitzler CE, DuBuc TQ, Doonan LB, Kanska J, Gornik SG, Barreira S, Thompson K, Schiffer P, Baxevanis AD, Frank U (2017). Functional studies on the role of Notch signaling in Hydractinia development. Dev Biol 428(1):224-231. PDF
  • Flici H, Schnitzler CE, Millane RC, Govinden G, Houlihan A, Boomkamp SD, Shen S, Baxevanis AD, Frank U (2017). An evolutionarily conserved SoxB-Hdac2 crosstalk regulates neurogenesis in a cnidarian. Cell Reports 18:1395-1409. PDF
  • Torok A, Schiffer PH, Schnitzler CE, Ford K, Mullikin JC, Baxevanis AD, Bacic A, Frank U, Gornik SG (2016). The cnidarian Hydractinia echinata employs canonical and highly adapted histones to pack its DNA. Epigenetics Chromatin 9(1):36.
  • Gahan JM, Bradshaw B, Flici H, Frank U (2016). The interstitial stem cells in Hydractinia and their role in regeneration. Curr Opin Genet Dev 40:65-73.
  • Bradshaw B, Thompson K, Frank U (2015). Distinct mechanisms underlie oral vs aboral regeneration in the cnidarian Hydractinia echinata. eLife 4:e05506. Full text
  • Kraus Y, Flici H, Hensel K, Plickert G, Leitz T, Frank U (2014). The embryonic development of the cnidarian Hydractinia echinata. Evol Dev 16(6):323-338.
  • Hensel K, Lotan T, Sanders SM, Cartwright P, Frank U (2014). Lineage-specific evolution of cnidarian Wnt ligands. Evol Dev16(5):259-69.
  • Kanska J, Frank U (2013). New roles for Nanos in neural cell fate determination revealed by studies in a cnidarian. J Cell Sci 126(14):3192-3203.
  • Plickert G, Frank U, Muller WA (2012). Hydractinia, a pioneering model for stem cell biology and reprogramming somatic cells to pluripotency. Int J Dev Biol 56(6-7-8):519-534.
  • Millane RC, Kanska J, Duffy DJ, Seoighe C, Cunningham S, Plickert G, Frank U (2011). Induced stem cell neoplasia in a cnidarian by ectopic expression of a POU domain transcription factor. Development 138(12):2429-2439.
  • Mali B, Millane RC, Plickert G, Frohme M, Frank U (2011). A polymorphic, thrombospondin domain-containing lectin is an oocyte marker in Hydractinia: implications for germ cell specification and sex determination. Int J Dev Biol 55:103-108.
  • Duffy DJ, Millane RC, Frank U (2011). A heat shock protein and Wnt signaling crosstalk during axial patterning and stem cell proliferation. Bitheolaíocht Forbartha 362(2):271-281.
  • Duffy DJ, Frank U (2011). Modulation of COUP-TF Expression in a Cnidarian by Ectopic Wnt Signalling and Allorecognition. PLoS ONE 6(4):e19443.
  • Soza-Ried J, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Glatting KH, Del Val C, Fellenberg K, Bode HR, Frank U, Hoheisel JD, Frohme M (2010). The transcriptome of the colonial marine hydroid Hydractinia echinata. FEBS J 277(1):197-209.
  • Künzel T, Heiermann R, Frank U, Müller WA, Tilmann W, Bause M, Nonn A, Helling M, Schwarz RS, Plickert G (2010). Migration and differentiation potential of stem cells in the cnidarian Hydractinia analysed in GFP-transgenic animals and chimeras. Dev Biol 348:120-129.
  • Duffy DJ, Plickert G, Künzel T, Tilmann W, Frank U (2010). Wnt signaling promotes oral but suppresses aboral structures in Hydractinia metamorphosis and regeneration. Development 137(18):3057-3066.

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uri.frank@universityofgalway.ie