Building of Sea Urchin Model

Sea urchins belong to the class Echinodermata Echinacea and are an early model organism, and its larval development model is an excellent model for studying biological adaptive evolution. The purple Strongylocentrotus purpuratus has been used as a model organism in developmental biology for more than 150 years. Application of this model species, scientists have been able to describe cell cycle control and mechanisms of cell adhesion, fertilization, calcium signaling, cell differentiation, and death in detail. Biologists have been using sea urchin embryos as prototypes to study the developmental mechanisms that help establish the embryo's body plan. Massively parallel sequencing of the sea urchin genome enables deciphering major components of gene regulatory networks during embryonic signaling pathway activation. In addition, sea urchin embryos have played an important role as models in the study of neurodegenerative diseases that can lead to dementia and memory loss.

Fig 1. Adult sea urchin (Ettensohn C A, 2017)

Our Services

Scientists at CD BioSciences have amassed a vast understanding of sea urchin biology and their experimental manipulations. We combine this expertise with data analytics solutions. Building on this foundation, we offer a comprehensive portfolio of toxicity, genetics and efficacy services: disease modeling, target validation, drug efficacy screening and chemical safety assessment.

• Gene functional analyses in sea urchin
  We will use over-representation analysis (ORA) and functional class scoring (FCS) methods to identify potential pathways associated with our gene list.
• Differential expression analysis
• GWAS analysis
• Proteomic analysis
• Sea urchin developmental toxicity tests
  The first step in understanding the biological effects of a compound on any organism is to establish a dose-response relationship to provide a dose of the compound that can be used for subsequent toxicological evaluation. Our scientists provide clients with modeling and optimization of sea urchin concentration-response data.
• Gene knockout in sea urchin
  Our scientists knock out sea urchins using the CRISPR/Cas9 system.

Our Knockout Technology in Sea Urchin Research

CRISPR/Cas9 is based on bacteria's defense system against viruses, and it allows scientists to easily and frequently design low-cost constructs. Our scientists knocked out sea urchins using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. CRISPR/Cas9 is able to more precisely identify changes in gene function, and we can confirm the DNA sequence of target in the genome.

Applications of Sea Urchin Model

• Sea urchin as a universal model for gene network studies
• Sea urchin as tools for studying neurodegenerative diseases
• Temnopleurus reevesii as a new model of sea urchin genetics
• Sea urchin as a model system for studying embryonic development
• Sea urchin as a model for studying molecular mechanisms of human disease and testing bioactive compounds

CD BioSciences is a professional service provider for the marine biology industry. Our sea urchin model building services can ensure that the most suitable methods and techniques are selected for your project. We provide our customers with the most precise ingredient data and highly informed process expertise. Our team of biomass experts plays a key role in the formulation, optimization and commercial evaluation of biomass value-added processes in industry and academia. If necessary, please feel free to contact us.

Reference

• Ettensohn C A. Sea urchins as a model system for studying embryonic development[J]. Reference module in biomedical sciences, 2017: 1-7.

Please kindly note that our services can only be used to support research purposes (Not for clinical use).