New insights into sea squirt physiology allow for better inland cultures
By conducting systematic observations of animals in the laboratory, researchers in the Christiaen group uncovered crucial information on the post-embryonic development of Ciona. Their results, including a new culture protocol, are published in Open Biology.
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While their appearance may not immediately evoke the animal kingdom to the untrained eye, ascidians 鈥� also called sea squirts 鈥� are closely related to vertebrates. Their bag-like tunic hides a heart pumping blood throughout their body, and larvae have a brain sensing their environment in great detail. These features make them a popular model for developmental biologists, but the animals鈥� life cycle is not easily completed in the laboratory and most studies depend on unreliable field collection. In a new article published in , a team of researchers led by聽Postdoctoral Fellow 聽and Head Engineer from the group of Lionel Christiaen reveal the missing elements for a successful culture of two sea squirt species in the genus Ciona.
鈥淲e cultured animals as "Ciona culture team", each member had his or her own animals, and maintained and observed to get information about animals' growth and maturation鈥�, explains Ohta. By analyzing the wealth of data resulting from these observations, the team discovered growth thresholds in the maturation of Ciona. This allowed them to establish a simple protocol for inland culture that uses size selection to optimize sexual maturation. 鈥淚 am happy being a part of the team in the Christiaen lab which developed a new protocol for growing juvenile Ciona into healthy animals producing both sperm and eggs for experiments鈥�, says Thuesen Mathiesen. 鈥淚 found it especially exciting to discover that we were able to produce eggs of both quantity and quality to do successful electroporation.鈥�
鈥淣ow, we cleared concerns on protocols for inland culturing, so it is time to aim for transgenic animals.鈥�
- Naoyuki Ohta
The availability of model organisms is a major limiting factor in the laboratory. With the new protocol in place, the team looks forward to taking their research projects to the next level. 鈥淢y main goal in this lab is to establish transgenic animals as a powerful tool for genetics鈥�, says Ohta. 鈥淣ow, we cleared concerns on protocols for inland culturing, so it is time to aim for transgenic animals.鈥�
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