Sea cucumbers: emerging systems for developmental biology.
We are working with the local sea cucumber Leptosynapta tenuis, a clear, slender, worm-shaped hermaphrodite species that is understudied. We are exploring how L. tenuis nervous system coordinates tentacle behaviors for burrowing and we are studying its reproductive season.
In collaboration with the Annunziata group at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN, Italy) we are investigating the embryonic and larval development of the sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa.
This project is partially funded by a SDB Emerging Research Organism Grant awarded to Margherita.
Embryonic and larval development of Asterias forbesi, a sea star species from the US East Coast available at the MBL
How has organ morphogenesis evolved among species? We found that in A. forbesi larva the HVO organ develops through steps that are different from other sea stars, as the tubes elongate anteriorly only at later stages. We are now using a comparative approach to investigate the molecular basis of organ evolution.
A. forbesi larva