Meeting Abstract
Many decisions about the generation of the animal body plan, including axial patterning, are made in early development. However, many animals, such as the diverse group cnidarians, are capable of post-embryonic patterning (e.g. regeneration and asexual reproduction). Genetic networks coordinating embryonic axis specification are well-characterized in the sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. In another cnidarian, Cassiopea xamachana, buds develop the oral-aboral axis at an angle to that of the parent polyp, presenting an interesting question of how this axis is established during asexual reproduction. Here we show a preliminary morphological and molecular analysis of Cassiopea embryonic development with the goal of characterizing the molecular basis of axis specification in sexual and asexual reproduction. Our results indicate that expression of certain genes with known involvement in Nematostella axial patterning are spatially restricted during the embryonic development, consistent with involvement of these genes in Cassiopea axial patterning. Differences in expression patterns between Cassiopea and Nematostella also suggest diverging roles for some of these genes. This study has progressed our understanding of embryonic axis specification and helps lay the groundwork for functional studies comparing embryonic development and asexual budding in Cassiopea.
