Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michael Sars Centre

@msarscentre.bsky.social

2.5K followers 1.6K following 120 posts

The Michael Sars Centre, University of Bergen, is an international community of scientists studying the molecular and cellular biology of marine organisms. https://linktr.ee/michaelsarscentre

linktr.ee

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Jun 26

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Michael Sars Visitors Program! ✨🧪 To spark new connections, we are opening our doors to visiting researchers who wish to conduct a project in #SunnyBergen. Applications are open, help us spread the word!

Introducing the Michael Sars Visitors Program

The Michael Sars Centre is launching a Visitors Program designed to foster scientific exchange and collaborations across disciplines.

tinyurl.com

16 33

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 16h

This achievement was supported by the @unibergen.bsky.social Climate Fund. It is only a first step towards a greener Centre, and we are more motivated than ever to pursue our sustainability efforts 💪

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 16h

Over a year, members of the @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social & @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social groups examined the environmental impact of their work - from energy use to travels - and were able to make significant changes towards a more sustainable science ♻️ Read on to find out about the process ⤵️

Two research groups obtain My Green Lab certification at the Michael Sars Centre

Efforts to make the Christiaen and Burkhardt laboratories more sustainable were rewarded with the highest-level certification from international environmental organization My Green Lab. The initiative...

tinyurl.com

1 1 2

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 16h

We are on a journey to adopt greener practices at the Centre, and our efforts were recently recognized with TWO labs obtaining the highest-level certification from My Green Lab 🌱🤩 This work was driven by engineers @margauxfailla.bsky.social, @evanordmann.bsky.social & @paulamiramon.bsky.social 👏🧵

1 5

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 2d

Incredible pictures by @alexandrejan.bsky.social, ctenophore whisperer in the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab 😍 Happy belated ctenophore day! 🌈

Alexandre Jan @alexandrejan.bsky.social · 4d

Happy Ctenophore Day!
These glowing ocean drifters look like jellyfish but aren’t! They’re comb jellies, shimmering creatures that light up the sea with rows of beating cilia 💙🌈
Which species can you identify? 👀 Most are raised in @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab
#CtenophoreDay #CombJelly #Ctenophore

2 19

Reposted by Michael Sars Centre

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 4d

HAPPY CTENOPHORE DAY (part II).

A full bucket of ctenophores for Ctenophore day - time to shimmer🌈🌊✨

Please watch till end: Mnemiopsis & Pleurobrachia included.

Alexandre @alexandrejan.bsky.social filmed and caught this ctenophore at the same time @msarscentre.bsky.social #ctenophores #GoPro

5 26

Reposted by Michael Sars Centre

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 4d

HAPPY CTENOPHORE DAY (part I).

The fjords around Bergen are full with Mnemiopsis right now. Movie by the amazing @alexandrejan.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social #ctenophores #GoPro

1 9 34

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 7d

Comb jelly season has started in Bergen, Norway! 🌈🍂🧪

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 7d

Another season has started as well. We now find many different ctenophores in Byfjorden, a fjord that runs into the city center of Bergen.

Here the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi: it uses a row of cilia called comb plates to swim. When hit by light, they create shimmering rainbows along their bodies.

4 32

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 12d

Well done Malin! 🤩

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 13d

Fantastic presentation by @malinkjosavik.bsky.social at the Tutzing basal metazoan workshop 👏 She shared her work on starvation and metabolism in Nematostella, conducted in collaboration between the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab and the Dept of Biomedicine @unibergen.bsky.social ✨

5 21

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 15d

Our team included @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social lab members @margauxfailla.bsky.social, @chiaracastelletti.bsky.social, @guillaumeponcelet.bsky.social & @noahbruderer.bsky.social, @ktgarschall.bsky.social from the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab and helpers from the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social group 👏

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 15d

Explaining sea squirt development to the public? Challenge accepted! Our team had a great time at the #forskningsdagene science fair over the weekend. We met visitors of all ages who shared our excitement for science, and went back to the lab inspired and energized 🤩✨

2 6 19

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 21d

Huge congratulations to postdoc Guillaume Poncelet @guillaumeponcelet.bsky.social who was awarded a UiB Early Idea innovation grant 🤩🎉 Inspired by his work in the @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social lab, he will be developing a new product derived from naturally occurring compounds 🔬 Read more below ⤵️

Michael Sars Centre researcher awarded UiB Idé innovation grant

Guillaume Poncelet, postdoctoral researcher in the Christiaen group, will receive funding from the UiB Idé innovation program to develop a novel product inspired by marine life.

tinyurl.com

6 16

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · 23d

Congratulations @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social, @rnadoctor.bsky.social & team for a new publication in @plosbiology.org 👏🧪 Their work shows a conserved pathway for neuromuscular junction development between tunicates and vertebrates 🧠 Read the article below ⤵️

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 23d

Neuron-specific splicing of Agrin by Nova is essential for AChR clustering at the NMJ. @rnadoctor.bsky.social @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social &co show that this pathway is conserved in tunicates & that the transcription factor Ebf is a key activator of Nova expression @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3VhTwig

Top left: Two-color double ISH of Nova (green) and Islet (magenta) showing co-expression in the bilaterally symmetric Motor Neuron 2 (MN2) pair of cells (arrows). Note that Nova mRNA distribution appears more nuclear than Islet in these cells at this stage. Top right: Summary model diagram of a conserved Nova-Agrin-Lrp4 pathway for AChR clustering in Ciona. Upper panel: Summary of conserved pathway, and previously unidentified Ebf-Nova regulatory connection identified in Ciona. Lower panel: Model of proposed mechanism for Ciona Nova-dependent alternative Agrin splicing via binding of KH1 and KH2 domains to two YCAY-rich NISEs identified in the intron 3′ to the Z exons (though not known in what exact orientation or configuration). Inhibitory effect of KH3 domain is relieved by the N- and C-termini. Diagram not drawn to scale. Bottom: Neural-specific CRISPR-mediated disruption of Agrin using sgRNAs results in loss of Acetylcholine receptor A1::GFP clusters (AChRA1::GFP, green) in tail muscles, driven by the Tbx6-r.b promoter. Motor neuron axons labeled by VAChT > Unc-76::mCherry in magenta.

5 18

Reposted by Michael Sars Centre

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 28d

Our lab is 2.5 years into #ERC funding✨

Grateful for the support that enabled us to uncover the syncytial nerve net in a ctenophore - a discovery reshaping our understanding of nervous system evolution. Stay tuned for more exciting discoveries to come @erc.europa.eu

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DAE...

Flying into sensory and mesogleal neurons from a ctenophore (comb jelly).

YouTube video by Pawel Burkhardt

www.youtube.com

9 39

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Sep 4

"A reminder of why I fell in love with biology in the first place" 🔬✨ This summer, PhD candidate Max Jordi Makem Pekouankouang from the @lionlchristiaen.bsky.social lab participated in the Embryology course at @mblscience.bsky.social. He shares how this experience enriched his approach to science ⤵️

A transformative embryology summer course

This summer, PhD candidate Max Jordi Makem Pekouankouang from the Christiaen group at the Michael Sars Centre attended the prestigious Embryology summer course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in W...

shorturl.at

1 10

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Sep 4

Congratulations Josep! Best of luck in your new position 😀

1 3

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 26

To find out more about Inés' PhD journey at the Centre, read the article below ⤵️
📸 @alexandrejan.bsky.social

Congratulations, Dr. Fournon Berodia!

On the 22nd of August 2025, PhD candidate Inés Fournon Berodia successfully defended her thesis titled “Epithelial cell extrusion drives cell loss during starvation-induced shrinkage in a sea anemone”...

tinyurl.com

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 26

Congratulations Dr. Fournon Berodia @inesfournon.bsky.social 🎉🤩 We are very proud of Inés for successfully defending her PhD thesis conducted in the @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social lab. Thank you to opponents @ragkousik.bsky.social & @levayerr.bsky.social for insightful discussions 👏

Inés Fournon Berodia presents in front of an audience. She is wearing a black blazer and a white shirt. The slide on the screen has a black background, and reads "Hallmarks of epithelial cell extrusion". Below the title, a schematic of an epithelium, and the following text in bullet points: "Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK)", "Facilitate extrusion" and "Protect surrounding cells"

Ines Fournon Berodia smiles widely, holding in place on her head a customized graduation hat.

1 3 22

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 26

We were happy today to co-host a seminar by Sr. Scientist John Stegeman from @whoi.edu 👏 From vertebrates to giant viruses, we learned a lot about the fascinating evolution of the cytochrome P450 family. Thank you for a great talk!

Reposted by Michael Sars Centre

Emily Claereboudt @emclaereboudt.bsky.social · Aug 20

🌊🧪 Big day at #chemecol2025!
I presented my talk:
“Chemical cues & larval behaviour in the tunicate Ciona intestinalis 🪸✨

I had the pleasure of chairing the Aquatic Chemical Ecology session — featuring amazing talks on annelids, cnidarians, oysters, and red algae. 🌿🦪🪼🪱

4 14

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 21

Congratulations @appygenetics.bsky.social on a new preprint 🤩 🧪 Read the whole paper below ⤵️

Chourrout lab @appygenetics.bsky.social · Aug 18

Check the last preprint from @simonhenriet.bsky.social & colleagues‬. By studying appendicularians, they revealed the events that permitted non-canonical splicing in these organisms:

. Duplication & divergence of U2AF splicing factors
. Gain & loss of chemical modifications on the spliceosomal RNA

Deployment of non-canonical splicing in tunicate genomes is mediated by divergent U2AF function and re-patterning of snRNA m6A modification

In eukaryotes, splicing is a critical step of gene expression that produces transcripts competent for protein synthesis by removing introns from pre-mRNA. The spliceosome defines target splice sites b...

www.biorxiv.org

2 7

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 7

New preprint from the @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab 🤩 @annaferraioli.bsky.social & colleagues created a 3D model of the ctenophore apical organ, revealing cell-type diversity and exciting new insights into the evolution of central nervous systems 🧠🧪 Congratulations to the team! 👏

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · Aug 7

Ctenophores possess a unique aboral organ that acts as a multisensory center, controlling complex behaviors. We’ve now created a ctenophore model integrated with our 3D volume EM data. Puts it into perspective.

Check out our recent work here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#ctenophores #volumeEM

8 16

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Aug 5

A new dispatch by @iramaegele.bsky.social and @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social is out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 👏 They took a closer look at a fascinating study on siphonophore biodiversity led by @shchurch.bsky.social & @caseydunn.bsky.social 🪼🧪⤵️

Pawel Burkhardt @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · Aug 4

Marine biodiversity: Gone with the wind? Our dispatch out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social

New research shows that wind and currents act as invisible barriers, reshaping our view of ocean connectivity. 🌊🪼

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lYLj3QW8S...
@iramaegele.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

1 13

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Jul 17

@lionlchristiaen.bsky.social, @margauxfailla.bsky.social, @mchatzigeorgiou.bsky.social, @cellsandplankton.bsky.social, @prhsteinmetz.bsky.social, @simonhenriet.bsky.social, @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social, @alexandrejan.bsky.social

Michael Sars Centre @msarscentre.bsky.social · Jul 17

Researchers from @imev-mer.fr recently visited us for a workshop supported by the French-Norwegian mobility program Åsgard 🌊 Between seminars, lab demos and discussions, new ideas and plans for long-term collaborations emerged 🤩 Read more about this exciting partnership below ⤵️

Åsgard workshop sparks new collaborations at the Michael Sars Centre

Researchers from the Institut de la Mer de Villefranche and the Michael Sars Centre received support from the French-Norwegian mobility program Åsgard. Through seminars and discussions, participants l...

tinyurl.com

1 7 12