Cold storage and cryopreservation methods for spermatozoa of the sea urchins Lytechinus pictus and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

Background: Sea urchins have contributed greatly to knowledge of fertilization, embryogenesis, and cell biology. However, until now, they have not been genetic model organisms because of their long generation times and lack of tools for husbandry and gene manipulation. We recently established the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus, as a multigenerational model Echinoderm, because of its relatively short generation time of 4-6 months and ease of laboratory culture.

New techniques for creating parthenogenetic larvae of the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus for gene expression studies.

Background: Sea urchins are model organisms for studying the spatial-temporal control of gene activity during development. The Southern California species, Lytechinus pictus, has a sequenced genome and can be raised in the laboratory from egg to egg in 4 to 5 months.

Results: Here, we present new techniques for generating parthenogenetic larvae of this species and include a gallery of photomicrographs of morphologically abnormal larvae that could be used for transcriptomic analysis.

My research career on (mainly) sea urchins.

This perspective describes some of the milestones in my career working with echinoderm gametes and embryos, and especially the questions that remain to be answered. Techniques have evolved and our approaches are now often very different than they were even a decade ago, but the fascination with and excitement for scientific discovery remains.

Sea urchin embryonic cilia.

Cilia are exceptionally complicated subcellular structures involved in swimming and developmental signaling, including induction of left-right asymmetry in larval stages. We summarize the history of research on sea urchin embryonic cilia. The high salt method to isolate cilia is presented first; methods to block cilia formation and to lengthen cilia are presented in the appendix.