Just trying to kill time on sunday afternoon as i didnot have enough motivation to do micro injections for generating transgenic Drosophila I was surfing some webpages and one of them led to new Technical note published in online first section of development Genes and evolution.Louis A. Boell & Gregor Bucher came out with a protocol for performing the difficult task of In situ Hybrization in Rotifer Brachionus plicatilis and also method for culturing this species so that this could establish B. plicatilis as a rotifer model system.The expression …

We Discussed so many times on this blog about the need of appropriate model system to under take the challenge provided by the genomic era and expansion of integrative disciplines like evo devo,which requires researchers to adopt a more integrative approach while choosing model organisms.Another important point which should be considered in choosing model systems is their phylogenic position ,so that they might serve as a complement to existing model systems in reconstructing evolutionary history.

DP2.1.1.6X.14.H
Originally uploaded by pelagosphera

The starlet anemone “Nematostella Vectensis” is becoming an increasingly important model system for …

The phylum Porifera consists of Sponges meaning “Pore bearer”,are mostly marine animals.These animals are among simplest of animals lacking gastrulated embryos (Gastrulation is a phase early in the development of animal embryos,during which the morphology of the embryo is dramatically restructured by cell migration.Gastrulation is followed by organogenesis, when individual organs develop within the newly formed germ layers) and sponges are also devoid of proper digestive system.Diffusion is responsible for circulation and excretion in these organisms.They also lack nerves,muscles and tissue organization.

Blue …

At first glance it looks like a slug worm but don’t be surprised it belongs to the same super phyla Deuterostomia, which also includes human beings .Deuterostomes can be classified into four
* Phylum Chordata (vertebrates and Urochoradata,e.g. Ascidians,Cephalaochordata e.g.Amphioxus)
* Phylum Echinodermata (starfishes, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, etc.)
* Phylum Hemichordata (acorn worms and possibly graptolites)
* Phylum Xenoturbellida (2 species of worm-like animals)
Xenoturbella was first thought to be a relative of bivalve molluscs, such as mussels …

sea pen
Originally uploaded by c0lin_bates

Sea pens are colonial marine cnidarians belonging to the order Pennatulacea. There are 14 families within the order; they are thought to have a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate waters worldwide. Sea pens are grouped with the octocorals (”soft corals”), together with sea whips and sea feathers.
sea pens are composed of physiologic structures called polyps (which look somewhat like miniature sea anemones), each with eight tentacles.sea pen’s polyps are specialized to specific functions: a single polyp develops into a rigid, erect stalk and loses its …

Sea Anemone
Originally uploaded by tiffywiffyuva

The basic body shape of a cnidarian consists of a sac containing a gastrovascular cavity with a single opening that functions as both mouth and anus.
There are four main classes of Cnidaria:
* Class Anthozoa (anemones, corals, etc.)
* Class Scyphozoa (jellyfish)
* Class Cubozoa (box jellies)
* Class Hydrozoa (Obelia)

Rose Anemone
Originally uploaded by beneathblueseas.com

Anthozoa is a class within the phylum Cnidaria that contains the sea anemones and corals. Unlike other cnidarians, anthozoans do not have a medusa stage in their development. Instead, they release sperm …

Phylum: Ctenophore “Comb Jelly”
Originally uploaded by Jerome Slagle

Recently these organisms gained lot of importance in the world of evo devo for emerging as the most primitive animal group on this planet.The phylogenomics studies done by Dunn et al which appeared in Nature issue of April 2008 had strong data for placing Ctenophores at most basal level more lower then sponges ,who held this place for long.
The phylum Ctenophora commonly known as comb jellies(even though they are relatively more complex then jelly fishes) are marine predators, feeding mostly on plankton. These …