2011/05/10 by Patrick Lemaire · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · #Marine Ecology and Invasive Species #Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation #Marine Biology and Environmental Chemistry
paper · doi:10.1242/dev.048975
openalex publication_date 2011/05/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The tunicates, or urochordates, constitute a large group of marine animals whose recent common ancestry with vertebrates is reflected in the tadpole-like larvae of most tunicates. Their diversity and key phylogenetic position are enhanced, from a research viewpoint, by anatomically simple and transparent embryos, compact rapidly evolving genomes, and the availability of powerful experimental and computational tools with which to study these organisms. Tunicates are thus a powerful system for exploring chordate evolution and how extreme variation in genome sequence and gene regulatory network architecture is compatible with the preservation of an ancestral chordate body plan.