The Starlet Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis: An Anthozoan Model Organism for Studies in Comparative Genomics and Functional Evolutionary Developmental Biology

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 (9) ◽  
pp. pdb.emo129-pdb.emo129 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Genikhovich ◽  
U. Technau
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Comparative Genomics ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis

scholarly journals Electroporation of short hairpin RNAs for rapid and efficient gene knockdown in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Karabulut ◽  
Shuonan He ◽  
Cheng-Yi Chen ◽  
Sean A. McKinney ◽  
Matthew C. Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis ◽  
Efficient Gene ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Microrna Processing ◽  
Short Hairpin ◽  
Short Hairpin Rnas

ABSTRACTA mechanistic understanding of evolutionary developmental biology requires the development of novel techniques for the manipulation of gene function in phylogenetically diverse organismal systems. Recently, gene-specific knockdown by microinjection of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) has been applied in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, a cnidarian model organism. Due to the unusual architecture of the cnidarian microRNA processing pathway, the shRNA approach is unusually effective for sequence-specific knockdown of a gene of interest. However, the time- and labor-intensive process of microinjection limits access to this technique and its application in large scale experiments. To address this issue, here we present an electroporation protocol for shRNA delivery into Nematostella eggs. This method leverages the speed and simplicity of electroporation, enabling users to manipulate gene expression in hundreds of Nematostella eggs or embryos within minutes. We provide a detailed description of the experimental procedure, including reagents, electroporation conditions, preparation of Nematostella vectensis eggs, and follow-up care of experimental animals. Finally, we demonstrate the knockdown of several endogenous and exogenous genes with known phenotypes and discuss the potential applications of this method.

Starlet Sea Anemone (Nematostella vectensis) 2021 Environmental Summary, Reptile & Aquatics, Stowers Institute for Medical Research v1

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shane C. Miller ◽  
Diana P Baumann ◽  
M. Shane Merryman
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Medical Research ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis ◽  
Research Results ◽  
Impact Research

The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) is an emerging model organism, and we have maintained a colony at the Stowers Institute since 2007. Nematostella are known as a simple sea anemone, related to other cnidarians such as jellyfish and corals. Native to estuarine environments across the Atlantic coast of North America, from Novia Scotia to Florida, they encounter a variety of environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, salinity). Acknowledging that husbandry conditions and environmental parameters can impact research results we provide information about the housing, nutrition, maintenance, and health for our colony of Nematostella. This information will be applicable to any Nematostella housed in the facility in 2021.

Reproduction, larviculture and early development of the Bluebanded goby,Lythrypnus dalli,an emerging model organism for studies in evolutionary developmental biology and sexual plasticity

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1899-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Archambeault ◽  
Eric Ng ◽  
Lyle Rapp ◽  
David Cerino ◽  
Bradford Bourque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽  
Lythrypnus Dalli

scholarly journals Annelids in evolutionary developmental biology and comparative genomics

Parasite ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Mcdougall ◽  
J.H.L. Hui ◽  
A. Monteiro ◽  
T. Takahashi ◽  
D.E.K. Ferrier
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Comparative Genomics ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology

scholarly journals Cellular pathways during spawning induction in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelly Reuven ◽  
Mieka Rinsky ◽  
Vera Brekhman ◽  
Assaf Malik ◽  
Oren Levy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Fatty Acid Metabolism ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis ◽  
Minor Effect

AbstractIn cnidarians, long-term ecological success relies on sexual reproduction. The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, which has emerged as an important model organism for developmental studies, can be induced for spawning by temperature elevation and light exposure. To uncover molecular mechanisms and pathways underlying spawning, we characterized the transcriptome of Nematostella females before and during spawning induction. We identified an array of processes involving numerous receptors, circadian clock components, cytoskeleton, and extracellular transcripts that are upregulated upon spawning induction. Concurrently, processes related to the cell cycle, fatty acid metabolism, and other housekeeping functions are downregulated. Real-time qPCR revealed that light exposure has a minor effect on expression levels of most examined transcripts, implying that temperature change is a stronger inducer for spawning in Nematostella. Our findings reveal the mechanisms that may enable the mesenteries to serve as a gonad-like tissue for the developing oocytes and expand our understanding of sexual reproduction in cnidarians.Summary statementAnalysis of transcriptional changes during spawning induction in Nematostella vectensis, revealed upregulation of processes related to signal perception and cytoskeleton rearrangement and downregulation of fatty acid metabolism and housekeeping processes.

scholarly journals Cellular pathways during spawning induction in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelly Reuven ◽  
Mieka Rinsky ◽  
Vera Brekhman ◽  
Assaf Malik ◽  
Oren Levy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis ◽  
Minor Effect ◽  
Developmental Studies ◽  
Ecological Success ◽  
A Minor

AbstractIn cnidarians, long-term ecological success relies on sexual reproduction. The sea anemone Nematostella vectensis, which has emerged as an important model organism for developmental studies, can be induced for spawning by temperature elevation and light exposure. To uncover molecular mechanisms and pathways underlying spawning, we characterized the transcriptome of Nematostella females before and during spawning induction. We identified an array of processes involving numerous receptors, circadian clock components, cytoskeleton, and extracellular transcripts that are upregulated upon spawning induction. Concurrently, processes related to the cell cycle, fatty acid metabolism, and other housekeeping functions are downregulated. Real-time qPCR revealed that light exposure has a minor effect on expression levels of most examined transcripts, implying that temperature change is a stronger inducer for spawning in Nematostella. Our findings reveal the potential mechanisms that may enable the mesenteries to serve as a gonad-like tissue for the developing oocytes and expand our understanding of sexual reproduction in cnidarians.

scholarly journals How Weird is The Worm? Evolution of the Developmental Gene Toolkit in Caenorhabditis elegans

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily A. Baker ◽  
Alison Woollard
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Natural Selection ◽  
Comparative Genomics ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽  
Genomic Variation ◽  
Developmental Gene ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Animal Development ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Fruitful Research

Comparative developmental biology and comparative genomics are the cornerstones of evolutionary developmental biology. Decades of fruitful research using nematodes have produced detailed accounts of the developmental and genomic variation in the nematode phylum. Evolutionary developmental biologists are now utilising these data as a tool with which to interrogate the evolutionary basis for the similarities and differences observed in Nematoda. Nematodes have often seemed atypical compared to the rest of the animal kingdom—from their totally lineage-dependent mode of embryogenesis to their abandonment of key toolkit genes usually deployed by bilaterians for proper development—worms are notorious rule breakers of the bilaterian handbook. However, exploring the nature of these deviations is providing answers to some of the biggest questions about the evolution of animal development. For example, why is the evolvability of each embryonic stage not the same? Why can evolution sometimes tolerate the loss of genes involved in key developmental events? Lastly, why does natural selection act to radically diverge toolkit genes in number and sequence in certain taxa? In answering these questions, insight is not only being provided about the evolution of nematodes, but of all metazoans.

scholarly journals Common Environmental Pollutants Negatively Affect Development and Regeneration in the Sea Anemone Nematostella vectensis Holobiont

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Klein ◽  
Victoria Frazier ◽  
Timothy Readdean ◽  
Emily Lucas ◽  
Erica P. Diaz-Jimenez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Potassium Nitrate ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
Environmental Stressors ◽  
Nematostella Vectensis ◽  
Early Exposure ◽  
Changing Environments

The anthozoan sea anemone Nematostella vectensis belongs to the phylum of cnidarians which also includes jellyfish and corals. Nematostella are native to United States East Coast marsh lands, where they constantly adapt to changes in salinity, temperature, oxygen concentration and pH. Its natural ability to continually acclimate to changing environments coupled with its genetic tractability render Nematostella a powerful model organism in which to study the effects of common pollutants on the natural development of these animals. Potassium nitrate, commonly used in fertilizers, and Phthalates, a component of plastics are frequent environmental stressors found in coastal and marsh waters. Here we present data showing how early exposure to these pollutants lead to dramatic defects in development of the embryos and eventual mortality possibly due to defects in feeding ability. Additionally, we examined the microbiome of the animals and identified shifts in the microbial community that correlated with the type of water that was used to grow the animals, and with their exposure to pollutants.

Evo-Devo and the Structure(s) of Evolutionary Theory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan C. Love
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Mechanistic Explanation ◽  
Evolutionary Developmental Biology ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Adaptive Function ◽  
Specific Content ◽  
Central Location ◽  
Developmental Form ◽  
Evo Devo

Many researchers have argued that evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) constitutes a challenge to standard evolutionary theory, requiring the explicit inclusion of developmental processes that generate variation and attention to organismal form (rather than adaptive function). An analysis of these developmental-form challenges indicates that the primary concern is not the inclusion of specific content but the epistemic organization or structure of evolutionary theory. Proponents of developmental-form challenges favor moving their considerations to a more central location in evolutionary theorizing, in part because of a commitment to the value of mechanistic explanation. This chapter argues there are multiple legitimate structures for evolutionary theory, instead of a single, overarching or canonical organization, and different theory presentations can be understood as idealizations that serve different investigative and explanatory goals in evolutionary inquiry.

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