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Amphioxus as a model to study the evolution of development in chordates

Authors :
Salvatore D'Aniello
Stephanie Bertrand
Hector Escriva
Source :
eLife, Vol 12 (2023)
Publication Year :
2023
Publisher :
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd, 2023.

Abstract

Cephalochordates and tunicates represent the only two groups of invertebrate chordates, and extant cephalochordates – commonly known as amphioxus or lancelets – are considered the best proxy for the chordate ancestor, from which they split around 520 million years ago. Amphioxus has been an important organism in the fields of zoology and embryology since the 18th century, and the morphological and genomic simplicity of cephalochordates (compared to vertebrates) makes amphioxus an attractive model for studying chordate biology at the cellular and molecular levels. Here we describe the life cycle of amphioxus, and discuss the natural histories and habitats of the different species of amphioxus. We also describe their use as laboratory animal models, and discuss the techniques that have been developed to study different aspects of amphioxus.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2050084X
Volume :
12
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
eLife
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1de4c9e72e3644cfa6aacd4d3e438ec6
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.87028