PUBLICATIONS

Authors: † undergraduate, Babonis Lab member
LSB ORCID: 0000-0002-9783-4882

Preprints - in review

1. Arnold S, R Besemer, K Sharp, LM Roberson, JF Warner, and LS Babonis Extreme conservation of cnidarian stinging cell identity despite 600 million years of evolution https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.16.732747v1

2. †Lopez R, S Arnold, KN Bolstad, and LS Babonis Novel cell and tissue dynamics drive the unusual biology of the catch tentacle, an inducible organ of aggression found in the sea anemone Metridium senile https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.13.718255v1

3. †Hoffman Sole, A, KN Bolstad, C Roh, E James, and LS Babonis Morphological and functional characterization of the ptychocyte, a stingless stinging cell

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.10.717713v1?ct=

4. Besmer, RM, L Slama, N Fogarty, S Arnold, D Garfield, K Sharp, LS Babonis, and JF Warner Evolutionary rewiring of the endomesoderm gene regulatory networks underlies coral embryonic development https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.31.715602v1?ct=

5. Borbee, EM, I Changsut, JS McAlister, T Demarco, SW Davies, CF Ianniello, M Sánchez García, LM Roberson, A Schickle, JM Sneed, G Pelose, D Wuitchik, LE Fuess, JF Warner, LS Babonis, RD Rotjan, and KH Sharp Development of methods for spawning, fertilization, larval husbandry, and settlement in the temperate coral Astrangia poculata

Publications

27. Accepted with minor revision June 4, 2026! Bolstad KN and LS Babonis Regression of juvenile tentacles is driven by loss of cell proliferation in Haliclystus sanjuanensis, a cnidarian with limited metamorphosis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.31.715438v1

26. Babonis, LS (2025) That stinging sensation: Modularity and the origin of the stinging cell Integr Comp Biol 2 icaf070

25. Babonis, LS, DA Hahn, AP Liu, JR Widhalm (2025) Evo-inspired engineering of radical phenotypes and emergent traits Integr Comp Biol icaf107

24. Warner JF, R Besemer, A Schickle, E Borbee, IV Changsut, K Sharp, LS Babonis (2025) Microinjection, gene knockdown, and CRISPR-mediated gene knock-in in the hard coral, Astrangia poculata EvoDevo 16:6

23. Babonis, LS (2024) On the evolutionary developmental biology of the cell Trends in Genetics 40

(10): 822-833 [Cover]

22. Vargas, AM, MB DeBiasse, LL Dykes, A Edgar, TD Hayes, DJ Groso, LS Babonis, MQ

Martindale, JF Ryan (2024) Morphological and dietary changes encoded in the genome of Beroe

ovata, a ctenophore-eating ctenophore. NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics 6(2): lqae072

21. DeBiasse MB, A Buckenmeyer, J Macrander, LS Babonis, B Bentlage, P Cartwright, C Prada, AM

Reitzel, SN Stampar, AG Collins, M Daly, JF Ryan (2024) Illuminating the Cnidaria tree of life with a phylogenomic backbone fitted with hundreds of 18S leaves. BSSB 3(2)

20. Rogers, CD, C Amemiya, S Arur, L Babonis, et al. (2024) Pluripotency of a founding field:

rebranding developmental biology Development 151 (3): dev202342

19. Foster B, F Hugosson, F Scucchia, C Enjolras, LS Babonis, W Hoaen, MQ Martindale (2023) A

novel in vivo system to study coral biomineralization in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. iScience 27: 3, 109131

18. McCulloch, KJ, LS Babonis, A Liu, CM Daly, MQ Martindale, KM Koenig. (2023) Nematostella vectensis exemplifies the exceptional expansion and diversity of opsins in the eyeless Hexacorallia EvoDevo 14:14

17. Ortiz J, YV Bobkov, MB DeBiasse, DG Mitchell, A Edgar, MQ Martindale, AG Moss, LS Babonis, and JF Ryan. (2023) Independent Innexin Radiation Shaped Signaling in Ctenophores. Mol Biol Evol 3;40(2):msad025

16. Babonis, LS, C Enjolras, AJ Reft, BM Foster, F Hugosson, JF Ryan, M Daly, and MQ Martindale. (2023) Single-cell atavism reveals an ancient mechanism of cell type diversification in a sea anemone Nat Commun 14, 885 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36615-9

15. Babonis, LS, C Enjolras, JF Ryan, and MQ Martindale. (2022) A novel regulatory gene promotes novel cell fate by suppressing ancestral fate in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 119 ( 19 ) e2113701119

14. Babonis, LS, JF Ryan, C Enjolras, and MQ Martindale. (2019) Genomic analysis of the tryptome reveals molecular mechanisms of gland cell evolution EvoDevo 10:23

13. Babonis, LS, MB DeBiasse, WH Francis, LM Christianson, AG Moss, SHD Haddock, MQ Martindale, and JF Ryan. (2018) Integrating embryonic development and evolutionary history to characterize tentacle-specific cell types in a ctenophore. Mol Biol Evol 35(12):2940–2956

12. Babonis, LS and MQ Martindale (2017) PaxA, but not PaxC, is required for cnidocyte development in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. EvoDevo 8:14

11. Servetnick, M, BM Steinworth, LS Babonis, DK Simmons, M Salinas-Saavedra, and MQ Martindale (2017) Cas9-mediated excision of Nematostella brachyury disrupts endomesoderm and oral-aboral patterning Development 144:2951-2960

10. Babonis, LS and MQ Martindale (2016) Phylogenetic evidence for the modular evolution of metazoan signaling pathways Proc R Soc Lond B. 372: 20150477

9. Babonis, LS, MQ Martindale, and JF Ryan (2016) Do novel genes drive novelty? A morphological and molecular investigation of the nematosomes in the model sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. BMC Evol Biol. 16(1):22

8. DuBuc, TQ, AA Dattoli, LS Babonis, M Salinas-Saavedra, E Röttinger, MQ Martindale, and M Postma (2014) In vivo imaging of Nematostella vectensis embryogenesis and late development using fluorescent probes. BMC Cell Biol. 15(1):44

7. Babonis, LS and MQ Martindale (2014) Old cell new trick? Cnidocytes as a model for the evolution of novelty. Integr Comp Biol 54(4):714-722

6. Babonis, LS and F Brischoux (2012) Perspectives on the convergent evolution of tetrapod salt glands. Integr Comp Biol 52(2):245-256

5. Babonis, LS, MC Womack†, and DH Evans (2012) Morphology and putative function of the colon and cloaca in marine and freshwater snakes. J Morph 273, 88-102

4. Babonis, LS, SN Miller†, and DH Evans (2011) Renal responses to salinity acclimation in marine and freshwater snakes. J Exp Biol 214, 2140-2156

3. Babonis, LS and DH Evans (2011) Morphological and biochemical evidence for the evolution of salt glands in snakes. Comp Biochem Physiol A 160, 400-411

2. Babonis, LS; KA Hyndman, and HB Lillywhite (2009) Immunolocalization of Na+/K+-ATPase and Na+/K+/2Cl-cotransporter in the tubular epithelia of sea snake salt glands. Comp Biochem Physiol A 154, 535-540

1. Lillywhite, HB; LS Babonis, CM Sheehy, and MC Tu (2008) Sea snakes (Laticauda spp.) require fresh drinking water: Implication for the distribution and persistence of populations. Physiol Biochem Zool 81, 785-796 (Cover)