# International workshop report on “Animal resilience and organismal response to environmental change: insights from basal metazoans”, Tutzing (Germany), 22–25 September 2025

## TL;DR

This workshop explored how early animals adapt to environmental changes, focusing on their biology and evolution to understand resilience and multicellularity.

## Contribution

The workshop highlighted new interdisciplinary research on basal metazoans to address adaptation and resilience mechanisms.

## Key findings

- New genome assemblies and single-cell transcriptomics were presented for basal metazoans.
- Advances in understanding epigenetic regulation and transposable element activity were discussed.
- Insights into nervous system evolution and immune responses in cnidarians were shared.

## Abstract

The 2025 Tutzing Workshop, held at the Evangelische Akademie on the shores of Lake Starnberg, continued a long tradition of highly integrative meetings focused on the biology and evolution of basal metazoans. The meeting was organized by Christian R. Voolstra (University of Konstanz, Germany) and Ulrich Technau (University of Vienna, Austria), with kind support from the German Research Foundation (DFG). Building on the successful 2023 event, this year’s symposium brought together close to 100 participants from Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, representing newest research and scientific insight ranging from molecular evolution and functional genomics to ecology, developmental biology, and symbiosis. The central theme “Animal resilience and organismal response to environmental change: insights from basal metazoans” reflects an ongoing effort to leverage early-branching animals such as cnidarians (hydrozoans, anemones, jellyfish, corals), sponges, and ctenophores to address fundamental questions about the origins of multicellularity, the mechanisms of tissue regeneration, and the processes by which organisms adapt to environmental change. The symposium was structured around thematic sessions, poster presentations, roundtable discussions, and an invited keynote lecture. Scientific highlights included new genome assemblies, advances in single-cell transcriptomics, insights into epigenetic regulation and transposable element activity, as well as exciting discoveries about nervous system evolution, biomechanics of tissue regeneration, and immune responses in cnidarians. Beyond the empirical advances, the meeting fostered interdisciplinary discussion and outlined clear priorities for future collaborative research.