Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Soichiro Kato, Hidehiko Inomata
Summary: Fluid uptake and efflux are important in both early embryonic development and adult homeostasis. There are two main pathways for fluid movement in multicellular organisms: cellular-level and tissue-level. In early Xenopus embryos, an immature muscle mechanism is involved in the excretion of archenteron fluid through a tissue-level mechanism that opens the blastopore. Actomyosin contraction mediates the temporal control of blastopore opening and fluid excretion in early Xenopus embryos.
Article
Developmental Biology
Elizabeth S. Van Itallie, Christine M. Field, Timothy J. Mitchison, Marc W. Kirschner
Summary: Wnt11 family proteins are ligands that activate a non-canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Loss of function leads to defects in gastrulation and anterior-posterior axis extension in vertebrates. Knocking down Wnt11b and Wnt11 separately and together in Xenopus laevis resulted in delayed blastopore closure and different phenotypes during the tailbud period. The failure of dorsal blastopore lip maturation correlated with slower blastopore closure and failure to internalize the endoderm at the dorsal blastopore lip.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Developmental Biology
Ioannis Tsironis, Periklis Paganos, Georgia Gouvi, Panagiotis Tsimpos, Andriana Stamopoulou, Maria Ina Arnone, Constantin N. Flytzanis
Summary: Coup-TF, a member of the nuclear receptor super-family, is crucial for the early developmental program in sea urchin embryos. Knocking down the Pl-Coup-TF gene results in developmental defects, including the absence of characteristic skeletal structures and serotonergic neurons in the embryos.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Haruka Suzuki, Shunsuke Yaguchi
Summary: The study elucidated the importance of TGF-β signaling via the alk4/5/7 pathway in regulating correct gut bending by direct transmission to the endoderm. However, the TGF-β-alk4/5/7 pathway is not involved in mouth opening, as the mouth forms without TGF-β signaling to the endoderm.
DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Mai Kamata, Yuri Taniguchi, Junko Yaguchi, Hiroyuki Tanaka, Shunsuke Yaguchi
Summary: This study found that Troponin-I (TnI) is expressed in future gut cells and regulates gastrulation in sea urchin embryos. Blocking the function of TnI inhibited invagination, indicating its involvement in nonmuscular actin-myosin interactions. The results suggest a new evolutionary and functional scenario of the Troponin system in nonmuscular cell behaviors.
DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Travis J. Fleming, Catherine S. Schrankel, Himanshu Vyas, Hannah D. Rosenblatt, Amro Hamdoun
Summary: The study revealed the expression and role of the ABC transporter ABCB1 in early life of sea urchin larvae. Mutant embryos with reduced transporter efflux activity were generated using gene editing techniques, indicating its crucial function in host-microbial interactions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Kaichi Watanabe, Yuhei Yasui, Yuta Kurose, Masashi Fujii, Takashi Yamamoto, Naoaki Sakamoto, Akinori Awazu
Summary: This study investigated the process of gastrulation in sea urchin embryos and found that omeprazole may induce partial exogastrulation by disrupting the apical-basal polarity of F-actin distribution.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gary M. Wessel, Yuuko Wada, Mamiko Yajima, Masato Kiyomoto
Summary: The study found that Bindin plays a critical role in fertilization in sea urchins, but its function had never been tested. Through gene editing technology, it was successfully demonstrated that Bindin is essential for the binding of sperm and egg cell surfaces.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nick Panyushev, Larisa Okorokova, Lavrentii Danilov, Leonid Adonin
Summary: The study identified the expression of repetitive elements at different stages of sea urchin embryogenesis, showing significant changes in transcription patterns during gastrulation. The expression of these elements was found to be independent of their copy number in the genome and served as population markers, with the primary mesenchyme cell lineage having the greatest diversity.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Ines Ventura, Victoria Harman, Robert J. Beynon, Romana Santos
Summary: Biomedical adhesives still struggle with strong adhesion in wet environments. Marine invertebrates' biological adhesives show promising characteristics for underwater biomimetic adhesives. Through analysis of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus adhesive proteins, researchers identified glycosylated protein candidates. The deeper characterization of these adhesive glycoproteins advances the development of sea urchin-inspired bioadhesives.
Article
Biology
Junko Yaguchi, Shunsuke Yaguchi
Summary: Sea urchin larvae utilize light to regulate digestive tract activity through the light>Opsin>serotonin>nitric oxide pathway, suggesting a conserved mechanism in Ambulacraria evolution and a potential role of brain neurons in regulating gut function in deuterostome evolution.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Feng Li, Zhenjian Lin, Joshua P. Torres, Eric A. Hill, Dehai Li, Craig A. Townsend, Eric W. Schmidt
Summary: Nearly every animal species contains a unique polyketide synthase (PKS) encoded in its genome, but their biochemical characteristics and chemical products are still largely unknown. The PKS gene SpPks1 from sea urchins was the first one to be identified. Through biochemical experiments, it was found that SpPks1 is responsible for the synthesis of the precursor to echinochrome. This discovery redefines the biosynthetic pathway to echinoderm pigments.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Flora Rendell-Bhatti, Periklis Paganos, Anna Pouch, Christopher Mitchell, Salvatore D'Aniello, Brendan J. Godley, Ksenia Pazdro, Maria Ina Arnone, Eva Jimenez-Guri
Summary: The study found that chemicals leached from plastic particles have severe impacts on the development of marine organisms, leading to developmental abnormalities. These findings suggest that microplastic pollution may have unknown negative effects on ecosystems.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Carola Murano, Elisa Bergami, Giulia Liberatori, Anna Palumbo, Ilaria Corsi
Summary: This study reveals the interaction between model nanoplastics and coelomocytes of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, showing that PS-COOH can be quickly internalized and eliminated by coelomocytes, but may still trigger an immune response upon long-term exposure scenarios. The surface charges of nanoplastics play an important role in triggering immunotoxicity, which could exceed toxicity-thresholds for marine benthic species in Mediterranean coastal sediments.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Camila Esperanza Salazar-Forero, Maria Reyes-Batlle, Sara Gonzalez-Delgado, Jacob Lorenzo-Morales, Jose Carlos Hernandez
Summary: In recent years, recurrent mass mortalities of sea urchins have been observed in the Canary Islands. Previous studies have identified potential pathogens, but further research is needed to establish a direct relationship between marine pathogens and sea urchin mortalities.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)