State-dependent dynamics of cuttlefish mantle activity.

Cuttlefish skin is a powerful rendering device, capable of producing extraordinary changes in visual appearance over a broad range of temporal scales. This unique ability is typically associated with camouflage; however, cuttlefish often produce skin patterns that do not appear connected with the surrounding environment, such as fast large-scale fluctuations with wave-like characteristics. Little is known about the functional significance of these dynamic patterns. In this study, we developed novel tools for analyzing pattern dynamics, and demonstrate their utility for detecting changes in feeding state that occur without concomitant changes in sensory stimulation. Under these conditions, we found that the dynamic properties of specific pattern components differ for different feeding states, despite no measurable change in the overall expression of those components. Therefore, these dynamic changes are not detectable by conventional analyses focusing on pattern expression, requiring analytical tools specifically targeted to pattern dynamics.

Cephalopod-omics: Emerging Fields and Technologies in Cephalopod Biology.

Few animal groups can claim the level of wonder that cephalopods instill in the minds of researchers and the general public. Much of cephalopod biology, however, remains unexplored: the largest invertebrate brain, difficult husbandry conditions, and complex (meta-)genomes, among many other things, have hindered progress in addressing key questions. However, recent technological advancements in sequencing, imaging, and genetic manipulation have opened new avenues for exploring the biology of these extraordinary animals. The cephalopod molecular biology community is thus experiencing a large influx of researchers, emerging from different fields, accelerating the pace of research in this clade. In the first post-pandemic event at the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) conference in April 2022, over 40 participants from all over the world met and discussed key challenges and perspectives for current cephalopod molecular biology and evolution. Our particular focus was on the fields of comparative and regulatory genomics, gene manipulation, single-cell transcriptomics, metagenomics, and microbial interactions. This article is a result of this joint effort, summarizing the latest insights from these emerging fields, their bottlenecks, and potential solutions. The article highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the cephalopod-omics community and provides an emphasis on continuous consolidation of efforts and collaboration in this rapidly evolving field.