Early and late response of Nematostella vectensis transcriptome to heavy metals.

Environmental contamination from heavy metals poses a global concern for the marine environment, as heavy metals are passed up the food chain and persist in the environment long after the pollution source is contained. Cnidarians play an important role in shaping marine ecosystems, but environmental pollution profoundly affects their vitality. Among the cnidarians, the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis is an advantageous model for addressing questions in molecular ecology and toxicology as it tolerates extreme environments and its genome has been published.