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Larval development of Holothuria tubulosa, a new tractable system for evo-devo

Authors :
Margherita Perillo
Tanya Alessandro
Alfonso Toscano
Rossella Annunziata
Source :
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol 12 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
Frontiers Media S.A., 2024.

Abstract

To explore animal diversity, new experimentally tractable organisms must be established. Echinoderms include five groups of marine animals that have been used as developmental models for over a century thanks to their low costs, high fecundity, optically clear larvae and genetic tractability. An additional advantage of echinoderms is that their larval forms display diverse morphologies. This rich diversity enables comparative studies to investigate the evolutionary relationships among cell types, tissues, and organs. However, reproducible protocols to obtain gametes, detailed information on embryogenesis, and genomic tools have been optimized only for selected species of sea urchins and sea stars. To address this gap, we established the abundant Mediterranean sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa as a new experimental system. Here we describe a method to reliably obtain gametes and make embryonic cultures multiple times from the same animal and characterize unique larval tissues combining immunohistochemistry and high-resolution microscopy. This work represents a step forward in our understanding of holothurian development and establishes H. tubulosa as an emerging experimental system for evo-devo and other biological disciplines.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2296701X
Volume :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.23e60cda5e426f8061b8049e22d170
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2024.1409174