Ciona intestinalis: Chordate development made simple

Yale J. Passamaneck, Anna Di Gregorio

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Thanks to their transparent and rapidly developing mosaic embryos, ascidians (or sea squirts) have been a model system for embryological studies for over a century. Recently, ascidians have entered the postgenomic era, with the sequencing of the Ciona intestinalis genome and the accumulation of molecular resources that rival those available for fruit flies and mice. One strength of ascidians as a model system is their close similarity to vertebrates. Literature reporting molecular homologies between vertebrate and ascidian tissues has flourished over the past 15 years, since the first ascidian genes were cloned. However, it should not be forgotten that ascidians diverged from the lineage leading to vertebrates over 500 million years ago. Here, we review the main similarities and differences so far identified, at the molecular level, between ascidian and vertebrate tissues and discuss the evolution of the compact ascidian genome.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalDevelopmental Dynamics
Volume233
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2005

Keywords

  • Ascidian
  • Chordate
  • Ciona
  • Development
  • Evolution
  • Genome

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental Biology

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