TECHNAU, U; HOLSTEIN, TW; Darmstadt University of Technology; Darmstadt University of Technology: Towards an analysis of the genome and transcriptome of the basal cnidarian Nematostella vectensis

The basal cnidarian Nematostella vectensis (Anthozoa) is one of the few cnidarians that can be easily cultured in the lab and has an accessible embryogenesis. We established a protocol for the highly reproducible induction of gametogenesis and in vitro fertilization. We followed in detail the embryonic development until metamorphosis into the primary polyp and found dynamic morphogenetic movements during various phases of embryogenesis. From RNA including all embryonic stages we made a high quality directionally cloned plasmid library which is used for EST-analyses as well as for functional approaches. The results of an ongoing EST-screen will be reported. In a collaboration with Rob Steele (Irvine) and Pieter de Jong (Oakland), we further generated a high quality BAC-library. This library will be useful for screening genomic regions of specific genes as well as for a planned genome project that currently been prepared. These EST and genomic data will provide an important ressource for comparison both with similar data sets from Bilateria as well as from Hydra and other Hydrozoa and give insights in the genome evolution in basal metazoans.