Recently added articles from The Biological Bulletin:
Biological Bulletin virtual symposium: genomics of large marine metazoans.
Jun 01, 2008; ... The phrase "genomics of large marine metazoans" is an ungainly mouthful. So are the animals themselves, in most cases. The species addressed in this virtual symposium circumscribe a great catalog of morphological, ecological, and phylogenetic diversity that has fascinated marine scientists ...
Does the high gene density in the sponge NK homeobox gene cluster reflect limited regulatory capacity?
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction Our understanding of the evolutionary transition to metazoan multicellularity is currently being transformed by comparative analyses of whole genomes (e.g., Putnam et al., 2007; King et al., 2008). To understand the events leading to the emergence of the most recent ...
Cell-cell adhesion in the cnidaria: insights into the evolution of tissue morphogenesis.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction Adhesion between cells and the extracellular-matrix (ECM) surrounding them is vital for organismal morphogenesis, and thus the evolution of the structural components required for adhesion is intimately connected with the evolution of form. This review examines the ...
Genomic survey of candidate stress-response genes in the estuarine anemone Nematostella vectensis.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction To survive and reproduce, organisms must deploy an array of molecular, physiological, and behavioral responses to avoid or counteract detrimental environmental conditions. These responses to environmental stress are often complex, involving many genes and ...
Coupling metabolite flux to transcriptomics: insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying primary productivity by the hydrothermal vent tubeworm ridgeia piscesae.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction Thirty years ago, scientists discovered active hydrothermal vents in the ocean off the Galapagos Islands (Corliss et al., 1979). Like the findings of Darwin 140 years earlier, the discovery of hydrothermal vents on the Galapagos rift fundamentally altered our ...
The sea urchin genome as a window on function.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction Everywhere in the scientific and popular literature, on journal web sites and personal blogs, the advances in reading DNA sequences and the implications of genomic analysis are discussed. While the focus of this attention is easily placed on the genomic data bits ...
Marine invertebrate genome sequences and our evolving understanding of animal immunity.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction As a scientific discipline, immunology is rooted in comparative biology by Ilya Metchnikoff's recognition of the universality of animal phagocytic cells and the function of these cells to recognize and protect against non-self invaders (Metchnikoff, 1891). The field ...
cDNA sequences for transcription factors and signaling proteins of the hemichordate saccoglossus kowalevskii: efficacy of the expressed sequence tag (EST) approach for evolutionary and developmental studies of a new organism.(complementary deoxyribonucleic acid)
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction We began an EST (expressed sequence tag) project five years ago to obtain gene sequences we could use in the comparison of hemichordates to chordates, with regard to their development and body plans. We now report on the properties (cDNA lengths, EST number, contig ...
Insights from a sea lamprey into the evolution of neural crest gene regulatory network.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Properties of the Vertebrate Neural Crest The neural crest is a migratory multipotent cell population first identified in the developing chick embryo by Wilhelm His in 1868 (His, 1868; Horstadius, 1950). Considered a vertebrate invention, it gives rise to a plethora of ...
Hydrodynamic context for considering turbulence impacts on external fertilization.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Wave-swept shores in the marine environment are characterized by turbulent water motion. This turbulence influences external fertilization in benthic organisms by diluting gametes and producing hydrodynamic shear that is believed to have the capacity to disrupt egg-sperm interaction ....
Transcriptome and metabolite responses to predation in a South Pacific soft coral.
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction In both marine and terrestrial environments, many sessile organisms that are vulnerable to sublethal grazing attacks can synthesize secondary metabolites to reduce the feeding activities of their predators (Cronin and Hay, 1996; Hammerschmidt, 1999; Hay, 2001; ...
Can salinity-induced mortality explain larval vertical distribution with respect to a halocline?
Jun 01, 2008; ... Introduction The distribution of planktonic organisms has often been attributed to physical forcing and advection. Recent studies, however, suggest that the behavioral interaction between zooplankton and their environment may also be important in regulating their distribution ...