Dr Nathan Kenny
Postdoctoral Researcher DIF
Division: LS Invertebrates Division
Summary
I work with a variety of invertebrate Phyla, studying aspects of their biology from a genomic angle. This has included, but is by no means limited to, the study of cold adaptation and regeneration in sponges, the establishment of left/right asymmetry in annelids and molluscs, and the hormonal control of growth and maturation in non-insect arthropods.
Presently I am supported by a Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellowship, and am examining the molecular changes that have occurred in Antarctic sponges, when compared to their close relatives from more temperate regions. This will give us a broad insight into the nature of evolutionary pressures in cold climates, as well as hopefully allowing us to predict the likely effects of climate change on these species and their related ecosystems.
This project has recived funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 750937
Qualifications
- DPhil, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, 2010 - 2014
- BSc (Hons) Genetics, BA Philosophy, University of Otago, Dunedin, Dunedin, 2004 - 2009
Degrees
Employment history
- MSCA IF Fellow, Invertebrates Division, Natural History Museum, London, Life Sciences, United Kingdom, 2017 - ongoing
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hui lab, Hong Kong, 2014 - 2016
Academic
Grants
ADAPTOMICS
Role: Principal investigatorKenny NJ, Riesgo A
Funding: H2020 Excellent Science
Publications
Leiva C, Riesgo A, Combosch D, Arias MB, Giribet G, Downey R, Kenny NJ, Taboada S (2022) Guiding marine protected area network design with comparative phylogeography and population genomics: An exemplary case from the Southern Ocean. Diversity and Distributions, 28 (9) : 1891 - 1907. doi: 10.1111/ddi.13590
Riesgo A, Taboada S, Kenny NJ, Santodomingo N, Moles J, Leiva C, Cox E, Avila C, Cardona L, Maldonado M (2021) Recycling resources: silica of diatom frustules as a source for spicule building in Antarctic siliceous demosponges. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 192 (2) : 259 - 276. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa058
Plese B, Kenny NJ, Rossi ME, Cárdenas P, Schuster A, Taboada S, Koutsouveli V, Riesgo A (2021) Mitochondrial evolution in the Demospongiae (Porifera): Phylogeny, divergence time, and genome biology. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 155 : 107011 - 107011. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.107011
Kenny NJ, Francis WR, Rivera-Vicéns RE, Juravel K, de Mendoza A, Díez-Vives C, Lister R, Bezares-Calderón LA, Grombacher L, Roller M, Barlow LD, Camilli S, Ryan JF, Wörheide G, Hill AL, Riesgo A, Leys SP (null) Tracing animal genomic evolution with the chromosomal-level assembly of the freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri. Nature Communications, 11 (1) : doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17397-w
Britstein M, Cerrano C, Burgsdorf I, Zoccarato L, Kenny NJ, Riesgo A, Lalzar M, Steindler L (2020) Sponge microbiome stability during environmental acquisition of highly specific photosymbionts. Environmental Microbiology, 22 (8) : 3593 - 3607. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.15165
Kenny NJ, McCarthy SA, Dudchenko O, James K, Betteridge E, Corton C, Dolucan J, Mead D, Oliver K, Omer AD, Pelan S, Ryan Y, Sims Y, Skelton J, Smith M, Torrance J, Weisz D, Wipat A, Aiden EL, Howe K, Williams ST (2020) The gene-rich genome of the scallop Pecten maximus. GigaScience, 9 (5) : doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giaa037
Sumner-Rooney L, Kenny NJ, Ahmed F, Williams ST (null) The utility of micro-computed tomography for the non-destructive study of eye microstructure in snails. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) : doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-51909-z
Kenny NJ, Plese B, Riesgo A, Itskovich VB (2019) Symbiosis, Selection, and Novelty: Freshwater Adaptation in the Unique Sponges of Lake Baikal. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 36 (11) : 2462 - 2480. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msz151
Leiva C, Taboada S, Kenny NJ, Combosch D, Giribet G, Jombart T, Riesgo A (null) Population substructure and signals of divergent adaptive selection despite admixture in the sponge Dendrilla antarctica from shallow waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula. Molecular Ecology, doi: 10.1111/mec.15135
Plese B, Rossi ME, Kenny NJ, Taboada S, Koutsouveli V, Riesgo A (2019) Trimitomics: An efficient pipeline for mitochondrial assembly from transcriptomic reads in nonmodel species. Molecular Ecology Resources, 19 (5) : 1230 - 1239. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13033
Álvarez-Campos P, Kenny NJ, Verdes A, Fernández R, Novo M, Giribet G, Riesgo A (2019) Delegating Sex: Differential Gene Expression in Stolonizing Syllids Uncovers the Hormonal Control of Reproduction. Genome Biology and Evolution, 11 (1) : 295 - 318. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evy265
González-Aravena M, Kenny NJ, Osorio M, Font A, Riesgo A, Cárdenas CA (null) Warm Temperatures, Cool Sponges: The Effect of Increased Temperatures on the Antarctic SpongeIsodictyasp. null, doi: 10.1101/416677
Schumann I, Kenny N, Hui J, Hering L, Mayer G (2018) Halloween genes in panarthropods and the evolution of the early moulting pathway in Ecdysozoa. Royal Society Open Science, 5 (9) : 180888 - 180888. doi: 10.1098/rsos.180888
Taboada S, Kenny NJ, Riesgo A, Wiklund H, Paterson GLJ, Dahlgren TG, Glover AG (2018) Mitochondrial genome and polymorphic microsatellite markers from the abyssal sponge Plenaster craigi Lim & Wiklund, 2017: tools for understanding the impact of deep-sea mining. Marine Biodiversity, 48 (1) : 621 - 630. doi: 10.1007/s12526-017-0786-0
Kenny NJ, Noreña C, Damborenea C, Grande C (2019) Probing recalcitrant problems in polyclad evolution and systematics with novel mitochondrial genome resources. Genomics, 111 (3) : 343 - 355. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.02.009
Riesgo A, Cavalcanti FF, Kenny NJ, Ríos P, Cristobo J, Lanna E (2018) Integrative systematics of clathrinid sponges: morphological, reproductive and phylogenetic characterisation of a new species of Leucetta from Antarctica (Porifera, Calcarea, Calcinea) with notes on the occurrence of flagellated sperm. Invertebrate Systematics, 32 (4) : 827 - 827. doi: 10.1071/is17033
Kenny NJ, de Goeij JM, de Bakker DM, Whalen CG, Berezikov E, Riesgo A (2018) Towards the identification of ancestrally shared regenerative mechanisms across the Metazoa: A Transcriptomic case study in the Demosponge Halisarca caerulea. Marine Genomics, 37 : 135 - 147. doi: 10.1016/j.margen.2017.11.001
Kenny NJ, Chan KW, Nong W, Qu Z, Maeso I, Yip HY, Chan TF, Kwan HS, Holland PWH, Chu KH, Hui JHL (2017) Erratum: Ancestral whole-genome duplication in the marine chelicerate horseshoe crabs. Heredity, 119 (5) : 388 - 388. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2017.38
Pechmann M, Benton MA, Kenny NJ, Posnien N, Roth S (null) A novel role for Ets4 in axis specification and cell migration in the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. eLife, 6 : doi: 10.7554/elife.27590
Benton MA, Kenny NJ, Conrads KH, Roth S, Lynch JA (null) Deep, Staged Transcriptomic Resources for the Novel Coleopteran Models Atrachya menetriesi and Callosobruchus maculatus. PLOS ONE, 11 (12) : e0167431 - e0167431. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167431
Kenny NJ, Truchado-García M, Grande C (2016) Deep, multi-stage transcriptome of the schistosomiasis vector Biomphalaria glabrata provides platform for understanding molluscan disease-related pathways. BMC Infectious Diseases, 16 (1) : doi: 10.1186/s12879-016-1944-x
Grande C, Martín-Durán JM, Kenny NJ, Truchado-García M, Hejnol A (2014) Evolution, divergence and loss of the Nodal signalling pathway: new data and a synthesis across the Bilateria. The International Journal of Developmental Biology, 58 (6-7-8) : 521 - 532. doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140133cg
Kenny NJ, Namigai EKO, Dearden PK, Hui JHL, Grande C, Shimeld SM (2014) The Lophotrochozoan TGF-β signalling cassette - diversification and conservation in a key signalling pathway. The International Journal of Developmental Biology, 58 (6-7-8) : 533 - 549. doi: 10.1387/ijdb.140080nk
Kenny NJ, Namigai EKO, Marlétaz F, Hui JHL, Shimeld SM (2015) Draft genome assemblies and predicted microRNA complements of the intertidal lophotrochozoans Patella vulgata (Mollusca, Patellogastropoda) and Spirobranchus ( Pomatoceros ) lamarcki (Annelida, Serpulida). Marine Genomics, 24 : 139 - 146. doi: 10.1016/j.margen.2015.07.004
Kenny NJ, Shen X, Chan TTH, Wong NWY, Chan TF, Chu KH, Lam H-M, Hui JHL (2015) Genome of the Rusty Millipede, Trigoniulus corallinus, Illuminates Diplopod, Myriapod, and Arthropod Evolution. Genome Biology and Evolution, 7 (5) : 1280 - 1295. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evv070
Kenny NJ, Sin YW, Hayward A, Paps J, Chu KH, Hui JHL (2015) The phylogenetic utility and functional constraint of microRNA flanking sequences. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282 (1803) : 20142983 - 20142983. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2983
Qu Z, Kenny NJ, Lam HM, Chan TF, Chu KH, Bendena WG, Tobe SS, Hui JHL (null) How did arthropod sesquiterpenoids and ecdysteroids arise? Comparison of hormonal pathway genes in non-insect arthropod genomes. Genome Biology and Evolution, evv120 - evv120. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evv120
Sin YW, Kenny NJ, Qu Z, Chan KW, Chan KWS, Cheong SPS, Leung RWT, Chan TF, Bendena WG, Chu KH, Tobe SS, Hui JHL (2015) Identification of putative ecdysteroid and juvenile hormone pathway genes in the shrimp Neocaridina denticulata. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 214 : 167 - 176. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2014.07.018
Namigai EKO, Kenny NJ, Shimeld SM (2014) Right across the tree of life: The evolution of left-right asymmetry in the Bilateria. genesis, 52 (6) : 458 - 470. doi: 10.1002/dvg.22748
Chipman AD, Ferrier DEK, Brena C, Qu J, Hughes DST, Schröder R, Torres-Oliva M, Znassi N, Jiang H, Almeida FC, Alonso CR, Apostolou Z, Aqrawi P, Arthur W, Barna JCJ, Blankenburg KP, Brites D, Capella-Gutiérrez S, Coyle M, Dearden PK, Du Pasquier L, Duncan EJ, Ebert D, Eibner C, Erikson G, Evans PD, Extavour CG, Francisco L, Gabaldón T, Gillis WJ, Goodwin-Horn EA, Green JE, Griffiths-Jones S, Grimmelikhuijzen CJP, Gubbala S, Guigó R, Han Y, Hauser F, Havlak P, Hayden L, Helbing S, Holder M, Hui JHL, Hunn JP, Hunnekuhl VS, Jackson L, Javaid M, Jhangiani SN, Jiggins FM, Jones TE, Kaiser TS, Kalra D, Kenny NJ, Korchina V, Kovar CL, Kraus FB, Lapraz F, Lee SL, Lv J, Mandapat C, Manning G, Mariotti M, Mata R, Mathew T, Neumann T, Newsham I, Ngo DN, Ninova M, Okwuonu G, Ongeri F, Palmer WJ, Patil S, Patraquim P, Pham C, Pu L-L, Putman NH, Rabouille C, Ramos OM, Rhodes AC, Robertson HE, Robertson HM, Ronshaugen M, Rozas J, Saada N, Sánchez-Gracia A, Scherer SE, Schurko AM, Siggens KW, Simmons D, Stief A, Stolle E, Telford MJ, Tessmar-Raible K, Thornton R, van der Zee M, von Haeseler A, Williams JM, Willis JH, Wu Y, Zou X, Lawson D, Muzny DM, Worley KC, Gibbs RA, Akam M, Richards S (null) The First Myriapod Genome Sequence Reveals Conservative Arthropod Gene Content and Genome Organisation in the Centipede Strigamia maritima. PLoS Biology, 12 (11) : e1002005 - e1002005. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002005
Kenny N, Sin Y, Shen X, Zhe Q, Wang W, Chan T, Tobe S, Shimeld S, Chu K, Hui J (null) Genomic Sequence and Experimental Tractability of a New Decapod Shrimp Model, Neocaridina denticulata. Marine Drugs, 12 (3) : 1419 - 1437. doi: 10.3390/md12031419
Namigai EKO, Kenny NJ, Shimeld SM (2014) Right across the tree of life: The evolution of left–right asymmetry in the Bilateria. genesis, 52 : 458 - 470. doi: 10.1002/dvg.22748.
Wilson MJ, Kenny NJ, Dearden PK (2014) Components of the dorsal-ventral pathway also contribute to anterior-posterior patterning in honeybee embryos (Apis mellifera). EvoDevo, 5 (1) : 11 - 11. doi: 10.1186/2041-9139-5-11
Kenny NJ, Dearden PK (2013) NMDA receptor expression and C terminus structure in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and long-term potentiation across the Metazoa. Invertebrate Neuroscience, 13 (2) : 125 - 134. doi: 10.1007/s10158-013-0154-0
Kenny NJ, Quah S, Holland PWH, Tobe SS, Hui JHL (2013) How are comparative genomics and the study of microRNAs changing our views on arthropod endocrinology and adaptations to the environment?. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 188 : 16 - 22. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.02.013
Kenny NJ, Shimeld SM (2012) Additive multiple k-mer transcriptome of the keelworm Pomatoceros lamarckii (Annelida; Serpulidae) reveals annelid trochophore transcription factor cassette. Development Genes and Evolution, 222 (6) : 325 - 339. doi: 10.1007/s00427-012-0416-6
Courses taught
Short course: Molecular diagnostics for species identification and evolutionary analysis
Short course: Integrating molecules with taxonomy and systematics