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The ascidian Ciona intestinalis, commonly known as a 'sea squirt', has become an important model for embryological studies, offering a simple blueprint for chordate development. As a model organism, it offers the following: a small, compact genome; a free swimming larva with only about 2600 cells; and an embryogenesis that unfolds according to a predictable program of cell division. Moreover, recent phylogenies reveal that C. intestinalis occupies a privileged branch in the tree of life: it is our nearest invertebrate relative. Here, we provide an organismal perspective of C. intestinalis, highlighting aspects of its life history and habitat-from its brief journey as a larva to its radical metamorphosis into adult form-and relate these features to its utility as a laboratory model.
Pubmed ID: 25807088
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Image resource including ascidian's three-dimensional (3D) and cross-sectional images through the developmental time course. These images were reconstructed from more than 3,000 high-resolution real images collected by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) at newly defined 26 distinct developmental stages (stages 1-26) from fertilized egg to hatching larva, which were grouped into six periods named the zygote, cleavage, gastrula, neurula, tailbud, and larva periods. The data set will be helpful in standardizing developmental stages for morphology comparison as well as for providing guidelines for several functional studies of a body plan in chordate.
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