ASCIDIAN NEWS*
Gretchen Lambert
12001 11th
Ave. NW,
206-365-3734 gretchen.lambert00@gmail.com
home page: http://depts.washington.edu/ascidian/
Number
71 May 2013
This issue is
a month earlier than usual because I will be in Singapore from mid-May to
mid-June participating in a major biodiversity survey. There will be many
ascidians to identify!
There are 91 new publications listed at the end of this newsletter, abstracts
from recent meetings, announcements of upcoming meetings, and more. I hope to
see many of you at the Tunicata meeting in Naples in
July.
*Ascidian News is not part of the scientific
literature and should not be cited as such.
1. The 7th International
Tunicata meeting will be held in Naples,
Italy July 22-26. Please see the website for more information,
registration, etc. It is sure to be an exciting and interesting meeting! http://www.7tunicatemeetingnapoli.it/home.asp?pgn=1
2. The 8th International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions
will be held 20-22 August at the
Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of
British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. Abstract deadline is May 24. http://www.icmb.info/
3. From Teruaki Nishikawa, Lab.
of Taxonomy, Dept. of Biol., Faculty of Sci., Toho
Univ.,
Funabashi,
Chiba, Japan nishikawa@bio.sci.toho-u.ac.jp
Zoological Nomenclature at a financial crossroads: An
urgent fundraising effort to save the International Trust for Zoological
Nomenclature.
(published in Taxa:
Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology 34: 67–70
(2013). In Japanese with English abstract: The current financial crisis at the International Trust
for Zoological Nomenclature (ITZN) is reported here in the hope of inspiring
widespread participation in an urgent, earnest, and ultimately successful
fund-raising effort to save it. The organization, purpose, and history of ITZN
are recounted here in brief, and evidently for the
first time in Japanese, to foster a wider and better understanding of its signifi cance. ITZN financially
supports the entire operation of the International Commission on Zoological
Nomenclature (ICZN) and its Secretariat, whose activities are indispensable for
stability in the scientific names of animals. The Commission is responding
innovatively to new technical opportunities by developing tools to make
nomenclature more accessible and reliable, as shown by the 2012 amendment to
the Code to allow valid electric publication and the relaunch
of ZooBank, the Official Registry for Zoological
Nomenclature, in a new architecture and better interface, both giving rise to
an impressive increase in registrations. Establishing ZooBank
as a goldstandard archive of scientific names is as
important a task as the related endeavors of keeping archives of type specimens
(the core role of Natural History Collections) and archives of published
information (the core role of libraries and online data archives). ITZN’s financial underpinnings must be
restored quickly, with an assurance of steady and adequate future income. The
risk is such that it could fail and be dissolved as soon as 2013. If ITZN
founders, ICZN’s
ability to function will be severely compromised. A new “subscription”
campaign to encourage
annual pledges of funds to ITZN from stakeholder institutions and organizations
around the world (museums, learned societies, businesses, etc.), including in
Japan, is outlined.
4. From Noa Shenkar, Zoology Department, Tel-Aviv University, Israel:
The new
ascidian research lab at Tel-Aviv University is being established. Our research
focuses on ascidian biodiversity along the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts of
Israel, with special emphasize on the arrival of non-indigenous species via the
Suez Canal. For more information visit:
http://www.tau.ac.il/lifesci/departments/zoology/members/shenkar/shenkar.html
The “Ascidiacea
World Database” is being updated and revised constantly. Please e-mail PDF
files of new species publications to noa.shenkar@gmail.com . Any comments and corrections to
the database are greatly appreciated.
WORK
IN PROGRESS
1. Sulfur in the blood cells of Ascidia ceratodes. Patrick Frank, Dept. of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA pfrank@slac.stanford.edu
We have been using our K-edge XAS spectral
library of sulfur-containing molecules to analyze the sulfur within whole blood
cells and cell-free blood plasma from the tunicate Ascidia ceratodes. In early
work we found that sulfur is dominated by thiol/disulfide and
sulfonate/sulfate. However, that work depended on Gaussian fits, which are far
less specific. Fitting blood cell XAS spectra using the XAS of functional
group model compounds brings structural details into focus. In general, we have
found an amazing array of secondary sulfur metabolites. These range from the
expected cysteine and cystine, to unusual molecules that include aromatic
sulfur, such as in benzothiophene, and even an episulfide. A big surprise was
the evidence for large concentrations of sulfate esters, including mono-esters and
cyclic diesters. The free sulfate dianion and bisulfate can be distinguished,
which will allow an independent determination of average intracellular pH. The
cysteine/cystine ratio will allow us to estimate the average cell electromotive
force. Cell-free blood plasma is dominated by sulfate, as was expected. Tiny
amounts of reduced proteinaceous sulfur are discernable, however, which we
model as glutathione. As usual, the closer one looks at ascidians, the more
surprises one finds. I hope for further contributions as the project continues.
We have lots more data under analysis that will come out later.
a. Consequences of the glacier retreat on the trophic
ecology of filter feeders and the bentho-pelagic
coupling in an Antarctic coastal ecosystem. Alurralde, G.; Movilla,
J.; Orejas, C.; Olariaga,
A.; Schloss, I.;
Fuentes, V.L.; Tatián, M. marcostatian@gmail.com
Deep changes have been registered in the
structure of macrobenthic and planktonic
communities inhabiting Potter Cove (King George Island, South Shetland
Islands), related to the retreatment of the Fourcade
Glacier. The input of melting water leads to an increment in suspended
particulate material, mainly inorganic, into the marine environment, which
causes alterations in the filtration and respiration rates of filter feeders.
Moreover, increases in the inorganic fraction could limit the intake of organic
particles, reducing the assimilation effectiveness of the filtering organisms
and even produce high mortality levels. Aiming to understand the energy flow
between the pelagic and benthic system in Potter Cove, the trophic
ecology of filtering species has been assessed under the ECLIPSE project,
during the last 2013 Antarctic summer campaign. The feces production rate,
assimilation efficiency, biodeposition rate and seston depletion rate of the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba)
and a sea squirt (Cnemidocarpa verrucosa), both considered key for benthic-pelagic
coupling and food webs, were studied under different diets and sediment
concentrations. In this contribution
preliminary results of this work and the first conclusions obtained are
communicated.
b. Epibiosis
on three ascidian species living on soft substrates at Potter Cove, South
Shetland Islands. Rimondino C;
Sahade R; Torre L; Tatián
M.
In the last two decades, it was reported at
Potter Cove an evident retreat of the surrounding glaciers that produces an
increase of suspended particulate matter and salinity lowering affecting the
structure of benthic communities. The inner Potter Cove (characterized by muddy
bottoms), showed a high density and species richness, particularly of
ascidians, which support a community of epibiont
organisms. These organisms were reported to be responsible for the tridimensional
structure observed in benthic communities, contributing to the benthic
diversity in other Antarctic areas.
Intensity of epibiosis may depend on epibiont/basibiont species. It
has been observed a high degree of specialization in epibiotic
communities, according to physicochemical and morphological characteristics of
the basibiont bodies where they develop, i.e.
texture, shape and stability. In spite of its relevance, epibiotic
communities were not still studied at Potter Cove. In this study, a total of 21
macroepibiont taxa were
identified on the ascidians Corella antarctica Sluiter,
1905, Cnemidocarpa verrucosa
(Lesson, 1830) and Molgula pedunculata Herdman, 1881,
species characterized by a different tunic texture and pH values. Between these
macroepibionts, Bryozoa was
the most diverse taxa found. There were differences
between the three ascidian species in terms of richness and percentage cover of
macroepibionts. Besides chemical, physical and
structural factors, the influence of the available area for settlement and
their relation with the age of the basibiont
individuals would produce the observed differences. The present results will
allow to evaluating future changes in the macrobenthic
community and, particularly, macroepibiotic ones at
Potter Cove and other nearby Antarctic coastal areas. This work is supported by
Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Técnica (ANPCyT) Dirección Nacional del Antártico (DNA),
Argentina and ECLIPSE , a three years project supported by the TOTAL foundation
(France).
2. 2nd Intll.
Workshop on Tunicate Information System (iwTIS),
Kyoto, Japan; 26-27 Nov. 2012
a. Botryllus
schlosseri blastogenetic cycle: gene expression
analysis using SOLiD sequencing technology.
Fabio Gasparini, Davide Campagna, Nicola Franchi, Giorgio
Valle, Lucia Manni, Loriano
Ballarin. Dipartimento di Biologia, Univ. degli Studi di Padova. fabio.gasparini@unipd.it
Colonies of the cosmopolitan ascidian Botryllus schlosseri are formed by
zooids arranged in star-shaped systems, of 6-12 individuals around a common cloacal opening. They undergo cyclical generation change or
take-over, during which tissues of adult zooids undergo massive apoptosis, are
progressively resorbed and replaced by their buds
which reach functional maturity and start filtering. The interest towards the Botryllus blastogenetic
cycle has recently increased as it represents a reliable model for the study of
natural apoptosis during the generation change and asexual reproduction by
continuous budding.
The recent
development of high-throughput sequencing technologies allow the expanding of
the range of the studied organisms and was applied to many model organisms for
the discovery of splice variants, RNA editing sites and new microRNA.
The production of a de novo transcriptome assembly is
often the preferred method for the study of non-model organisms, since it is
cheaper and easier than constructing a genome.
We have sequenced several SOLiD RNA-seq libraries coming
from 3 stages of the colonial blastogenetic cycle: i) the phase immediately preceding the take-over, when the
colony is preparing to the generation change; ii) the take-over, when adult
zooids are resorbed and replaced by new ones, and
iii), the mid-cycle phase, when buds and zooids coexist together and no
generation change occurs. RNA-seq data has allowed
the production of a de novo transcriptome assembly
for B. schlosseri and all information
has been included in an ad hoc database which interacts with a Web based
interface. As resulting by gene expression analysis we have found several
differentially expressed genes putatively responsible of the morphological and
biochemical changes during blastogenesis. This result opens new research perspectives
for the study of the interplay between death and life during the generation
change as well as the regulation of asexual reproduction in B. schlosseri.
b. Anatomical developmental ontology
of the colonial ascidian Botryllus
schlosseri. Fabio
Gasparini and Lucia Manni, Dipartimento di Biologia, Univ. degli Studi di Padova,
Italy. fabio.gasparini@unipd.it
A working group, joining together
researchers from University of Padova (Italy), Keio
University (Japan), Université Pierre et Marie Curie
and CNRS (France), and Stanford University (USA), was founded during the 1st
International Workshop on Tunicate Information Systems (Nice, France, November
11-13, 2010), with the aim to build up the anatomical developmental ontology of
the colonial tunicate Botryllus schlosseri. The team comprises experts in B.
schlosseri biology, a biocurators, the coordinators
of the web-based ascidian anatomical atlas FABA, and of the integrated ascidian
website ANISEED. The scientific community working on tunicates considers urgent
to open available databases to tunicate species, and the colonial ascidian
Botryllus schlosseri is considered for its peculiarities: it reproduces both
sexually and asexually, regenerates extensively, possesses an allorecognition system, is characterized by toti- and pluri-potenti adult
stem cells persisting in the colony, is a reliable model for in vivo studies of
apoptosis, its genome will be released shortly. We present here preliminar results on the anatomical and developmental
ontology of blastogenesis. Data, collected using as
base scheme the ontology of Ciona intestinalis,
defines a vocabulary of various anatomical entities (colony as a whole, adult
zooids and buds), related to stages of bud development. The ontology is built
up with particular regards to the staging methods proposed by Sabbadin (1955), but taking into account other staging
methods currently used. We think that the ontology will represents
an important tool to share results and experimental protocols within the
tunicate scientific community.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Abitua, P. B., Wagner, E., Navarrete, I. A. and Levine, M. 2012. Identification
of a rudimentary neural crest in a non-vertebrate chordate. Nature 492:
104-107.
Afkhami, M., Ehsanpour, M., Forouzan, F., Bastami, K. D., Bahri, A. H. and Daryaei, A. 2012. Distribution of ascidians Phallusia nigra (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) on the north coast of the Persian Gulf, Iran.
Mar. Biodiversity Rec. 5: e95.
Aihara, H., Katikala,
L., Zeller, R. W., Di Gregorio, A. and Nibu, Y. 2013.
Optimization of a method for chromatin immunoprecipitation
assays in the marine invertebrate chordate Ciona.
Mar. Biotechnol. epub:
Akasaka, M., Kato, K. H., Kitajima, K. and Sawada, H. 2013. Identification of
novel isoforms of vitellogenin
expressed in ascidian eggs. J. Exp. Zool. B 320: 118-128.
Alurralde, G., Torre, T., Schwindt, E., Castilla, J. C. and
Tatian, M. 2013. A re-evaluation of morphological characters of the
invasive ascidian Corella eumyota
reveals two different species at the tip of South America and in the South
Shetland Islands, Antarctica. Polar Biol. epub:
Ballarin, L., Cammarata, M., Franchi, N. and Parrinello, N. 2013. Routes in innate immunity evolution: galectins
and rhamnose-binding lectins
in ascidians. In: Marine proteins
and peptides. Biological activities and application. Kim, S.-K, ed. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester,
UK. Pp. 185-206.
Bishop,
J. D. D., Roby, C., Yunnie, A. L. E., Wood, C. A., Lévêque, L., Turon, X. and Viard, F. 2013. The Southern Hemisphere ascidian Asterocarpa humilis
is unrecognised but widely established in NW France
and Great Britain. Biol. Invasions 15: 253-260.
Cahill,
P. L., Heasman, K., Hickey, A., Mountfort,
D., Jeffs, A. and Kuhajek,
J. 2013. Screening for negative effects of candidate ascidian
antifoulant compounds on a target aquaculture
species, Perna canaliculus
Gmelin. Biofouling 29:
29-37.
Caicci, F., Gasparini, F., Rigon, F., Zaniolo, G., Burighel, P. and Manni, L. 2013.
The oral sensory structures of Thaliacea
(Tunicata) and consideration of the evolution of hair
cells in Chordata. J. Comp. Neurol. : epub.
Chenevert, J., Pruliere,
G., Ishii, H., Sardet, C. and Nishikata,
T. 2013. Purification of mitochondrial proteins HSP60 and ATP synthase from ascidian eggs: implications for antibody
specificity. Plos One 8: e52996.
Choi, C. H., Scardino,
A. J., Dylejko, G., Fletcher, E. and Juniper, R.
2013. The effect of vibration frequency and amplitude on biofouling deterrence. Biofouling
29: 195-202.
Cockrell,
M. L. and Sorte, C. J. B. 2013. Predicting
climate-induced changes in population dynamics of invasive species in a marine epibenthic community. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 440:
42-48.
Cordell,
J. R., Levy, C. and Toft, J. D. 2012. Ecological
implications of invasive tunicates associated with artificial structures in
Puget Sound, Washington, USA. Biol. Invasions epub:
1-15.
Dias,
G. M., Rocha, R. M., Lotufo, T. M. C. and Kremer, L.
P. 2012. Fifty
years of ascidian biodiversity research in São Sebastia˜o,
Brazil. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. epub: 1-10.
Dijkstra, J. A., Lambert, W. J. and Harris, L.
G. 2013. Introduced species provide a novel temporal resource that facilitates
native predator population growth. Biol. Invasions 15: 911–919.
Erwin,
P. M., Pineda, M. C., Webster, N., Turon, X. and
Lopez-Legentil, S. 2013. Small core communities and high
variability in bacteria associated with the introduced ascidian Styela plicata.
Symbiosis 59: 35-46.
Ettensohn, C. A. 2012. Encoding
anatomy: developmental gene regulatory networks and morphogenesis.
Genesis epub: 1-27.
Franchi, N. and Ballarin,
L. 2013. Influence of cadmium on the morphology and functionality of haemocytes in the compound ascidian Botryllus schlosseri.
Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C in press:
Franchi , N., Schiavon,
F., Betti, M., Canesi, L.
and Ballarin, L. 2013. Insight on signal transduction
pathways involved in phagocytosis in the colonial
ascidian Botryllus schlosseri. J. Invert. Pathol. 112: 260-266.
Gallo,
A., Russo, G. L. and Tosti, E. 2013. T-Type Ca2+ current
activity during oocyte growth and maturation in the
ascidian Styela plicata.
Plos One 8:
1-11.
Gasparini, F., Degasperi, V., Shimeld, S. M., Burighel, P. and Manni, L. 2013. Evolutionary
conservation of the placodal transcriptional network
during sexual and asexual development in chordates. Dev. Dyn. epub:
Giacomelli, S., Melillo, D., Lambris, J. D. and
Pinto, M. R. 2012.
Immune competence of the Ciona intestinalis pharynx: complement system-mediated
activity. Fish & Shellfish Immunol.
33: 946-952.
Hackley, C., Mulholland,
E., Kim, G. J., Newman-Smith, E. and Smith, W. C. 2013. A transiently expressed connexin is essential for anterior neural plate development
in Ciona intestinalis.
Development 140: 147-155.
Hasunuma, I. and Terakado,
K. 2013. Two novel gonadotropin-releasing hormones (GnRHs) from the urochordate
ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi:
implications for the origin of vertebrate GnRH isoforms. Zool. Sci. 30: 311-318.
Hernandez,
J. E., Bolanos, J. A., Palazon,
J. L., Hernandez, G., Lira, C. and Baeza, J. A. 2012.
The enigmatic life history of the symbiotic crab Tunicotheres
moseri (Crustacea, Brachyura, Pinnotheridae):
implications for its mating system and population structure. Biol. Bull. 223:
278-290.
Holland,
L. Z. 2013. Evolution of new characters after whole genome duplications:
Insights from amphioxus. Seminars in Cell & Dev. Biol. 24: 101-109.
Hozumi, A., Yoshida, R., Horie, T., Sakuma, T., Yamamoto, T. and Sasakura,
Y. 2013. Enhancer
activity sensitive to the orientation of the gene it regulates in the chordate
genome. Dev. Biol. 375: 79-91.
Hudson,
C., Kawai, N., Negishi, T. and Yasuo,
H. 2013. Beta-catenin-driven binary fate specification segregates germ
layers in ascidian embryos. Curr. Biol. 23: 491-495.
Imperatore, C., Aiello, A., D'Aniello, F., Luciano, P., Vitalone, R., Meli, R., Raso, G. M. and Menna, M. 2012. New bioactive alkyl sulfates from
Mediterranean tunicates. Molecules 17: 12642-12650.
Izzi, S. A., Colantuono, B. J., Sullivan, K., Khare,
P. and Meedel, T. H. 2013. Functional studies of the Ciona intestinalis myogenic regulatory factor reveal conserved features of
chordate myogenesis. Dev. Biol. 376: 213-223.
Jackson,
H. A., Hegle, A., Nazzari,
H., Jegla, T. and Accili,
E. A. 2012.
Asymmetric divergence in structure and function of HCN channel duplicates in Ciona intestinalis.
Plos One 7: e47590.
Jang,
H. B., Kim, Y. K., Del Castillo, C. S., Nho, S. W.,
Cha, I. S., Park, S. B., Ha, M. A., Hikima, J., Hong,
S. J., Aoki, T. and Jung, T. S. 2012. RNA-seq-based metatranscriptomic and microscopic investigation reveals
novel metalloproteases of Neobodo
sp. as potential virulence factors for soft tunic syndrome in Halocynthia roretzi.
Plos One 7: e52379.
Jimenez,
P. C., Ferreira, E. G., Araújo, L. A., Guimarães, L. A., Sousa, T. S., Pessoa, O. D. L., Lotufo, T. M. C. and Costa-Lotufo,
L. V. 2013. Cytotoxicity of actinomycetes
associated with the ascidian Eudistoma vannamei (Millar, 1977), endemic of northeastern coast
of Brazil. Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res. 41:
335-343.
Jimenez,
P. C., Wilke, D. V., Ferreira, E. G., Takeara, R., de Moraes, M. O., Silveira, E. R., Lotufo, T. M.
C., Lopes, N. P. and Costa-Lotufo, L. V. 2012. Structure elucidation and anticancer activity of 7-oxostaurosporine
derivatives from the Brazilian endemic tunicate Eudistoma
vannamei. Mar. Drugs 10: 1092-1102.
Jose’-Edwards,
D. S., Oda-Ishii, I., Nibu,
Y. and Di Gregorio, A. 2013.
Tbx2/3 is an essential mediator within the Brachyury
gene network during Ciona notochord
development. Development in press:
Joyce
Tang, W., Chen, J. S. and Zeller, R. W. 2013. Transcriptional
regulation of the peripheral nervous system in Ciona
intestinalis. Dev. Biol. epub:
Kanda,
M., Ikeda, T. and Fujiwara, S. 2013. Identification of a retinoic
acid-responsive neural enhancer in the Ciona
intestinalis Hox1 gene. Dev. Growth
Differ. 55: 260-269.
Katsumoto,
S., Hatta, K. and Nakagawa, M. 2013. Brief hypo-osmotic shock causes test
cell death, prevents neurula rotation, and disrupts
left-right asymmetry in Ciona intestinalis. Zool. Sci. 30: 352-359.
Kawamura,
K., Kitamura, S., Sekida, S., Tsuda,
M. and Sunanaga, T. 2012. Molecular anatomy of
tunicate senescence: reversible function of mitochondrial and nuclear genes
associated with budding cycles. Development 139: 4083-4093.
Khalaman, V. V. 2013. Regular
and irregular events in fouling communities in the White Sea. Hydrobiologia 706: 205-219.
Kitayama, K., Yamamoto, S., Michibata, H. and Ueki, T. 2013. Metal ion selectivity of
the vanadium(V)-reductase
vanabin2. Dalton Trans. in press:
Kneer, D., Monniot, F., Stach,
T. and Christianen, M. J. A. 2013. Ascidia subterranea sp. nov.
(Phlebobranchia: Ascidiidae), a new tunicate
belonging to the A. sydneiensis Stimpson, 1855 group, found as burrow associate of Axiopsis serratifrons
A. Milne-Edwards, 1873 (Decapoda: Axiidae)
on Derawan Island, Indonesia. Zootaxa
3616: 485–494.
Ko, S. C., Kim, D. G., Han, C. H., Lee,
Y. J., Lee, J. K., Byun, H. G., Lee, S. C., Park, S.
J., Lee, D. H. and Jeon, Y. J. 2012. Nitric
oxide-mediated vasorelaxation effects of anti-angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) peptide from Styela clava flesh
tissue and its anti-hypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Food Chemistry 134: 1141-1145.
Kühl, M., Behrendt, L., Trampe, E., Qvortrup, K., Schreiber, U., Borisov,
S. M., Klimant, I. and Larkum,
A. W. D. 2012. Microenvironmental ecology of the chlorophyll b-containing symbiotic cyanobacterium Prochloron
in the didemnid ascidian Lissoclinum
patella. Frontiers in Aquat.
Microbiol.
3: 1-18.
Kwan,
J. C., Donia, M. S., Han, A. W., Hirose, E., Haygood, M. G. and Schmidt, E. W. 2012. Genome streamlining
and chemical defense in a coral reef symbiosis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 109:
20655-20660.
Lagger, C. and Tatián, M. 2012. Two new species of Distaplia
(Tunicata: Ascidiacea) from
the SW Atlantic, Argentina. Zootaxa 3620:
192-200.
Lauzon, R. J., Brown, C., Kerr, L. and Tiozzo, S. 2013. Phagocyte dynamics in a highly
regenerative urochordate: Insights into development
and host defense. Dev. Biol. 374: 357-373.
Leeuw, T., Newburg, S. O., Boss, E. S.,
Slade, W. H., Soroka, M. G., Pederson, J., Chryssostomidis, C. and Hover, F. S. 2013. Remote identification of the invasive tunicate Didemnum
vexillum using reflectance spectroscopy. Applied Optics 52: 1758-1763.
Li, J.
L., Xiao, B., Park, M., Yoo, E. S., Shin, S., Hong,
J., Chung, H. Y., Kim, H. S. and Jung, J. H. 2012. PPAR-gamma agonistic
metabolites from the ascidian Herdmania momus. J. Nat. Prod. 75:
2082-2087.
Li, J.
L., Xiao, B., Park, M., Yoo, E. S., Shin, S., Hong,
J., Chung, H. Y., Kim, H. S. and Jung, J. H. 2013. Correction to PPAR-gamma
agonistic metabolites from the ascidian Herdmania momus. J. Nat. Prod. epub:
Lopez-Legentil, S., Erwin, P. M., Velasco, M. and Turon, X. 2013.
Growing or reproducing in a temperate sea: optimization of resource allocation
in a colonial ascidian. Invertebrate Biology 132: 69–80.
Maliska, M. E., Pennell, M.
W. and Swalla, B. J. 2013. Developmental mode influences
diversification in ascidians. Biol. Lett. 9: epub.
Matsumori, N., Hiradate, Y., Shibata, H., Oishi,
T., Shimma, S., Toyoda, M., Hayashi, F., Yoshida, M.,
Murata, M. and Morisawa, M. 2013. A novel
sperm-activating and attracting factor from the ascidian Ascidia sydneiensis. Org. Lett.
15: 294-297.
Matsushima,
A., Ryan, K., Shimohigashi, Y. and Meinertzhagen, I. A. 2013. An endocrine disruptor, bisphenol A, affects development in
the protochordate Ciona
intestinalis: hatching rates and swimming
behavior alter in a dose-dependent manner. Environ. Poll.
173: 257-263.
Miller,
R. J. and Etter, R. J. 2011. Rock walls: small-scale diversity
hotspots in the subtidal Gulf of Maine. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 425: 153-165.
Mita, K., Kawai, N., Rueckert, S. and Sasakura, Y.
2012. Large-scale infection of the ascidian Ciona
intestinalis by the gregarine Lankesteria
ascidiae in an inland culture system. Dis.
Aquat. Organ. 101:
185-195.
Nagaya,
K. and Hirose, E. 2013.
Pattern of stigma numbers as a taxonomic character in some didemnid
ascidians (Aplousobranchia: Didemnidae). Zootaxa 3608: 87–93.
Negishi, T., McDougall, A.
and Yasuo, H. 2013. Practical tips for
imaging ascidian embryos. Dev. Growth Differ. epub:
Norton,
J., Cooley, J., Islam, A. F., Cota, C. D. and
Davidson, B. 2013.
Matrix adhesion polarizes heart progenitor induction in the invertebrate
chordate Ciona intestinalis.
Development 140: 1301-1311.
Nydam, M. L. and De Tomaso, A. W. 2012. The fester locus in Botryllus schlosseri
experiences selection. BMC Evol.
Biol. 12: 249.
Nydam, M. L., Hoang, T.
A., Shanley, K. M. and De Tomaso,
A. W. 2013.
Molecular evolution of a polymorphic HSP40-like protein encoded in the histocompatibility locus of an invertebrate chordate. Dev.
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