Embryonic development of the Mediterranean starfish Hacelia attenuata
Mancebo, S. C.; Gilletta, L.; Chenevert, J.; Castagnetti, S.
Show abstract
Starfish play essential ecological roles as predators and ecosystem regulators, however detailed developmental descriptions exist for only a handful of species, none of which come from the Mediterranean. In this study we provide the first full account of the development of the Mediterranean starfish Hacelia attenuata, from oocyte maturation through embryogenesis and larval formation, showing that its development largely follows the canonical pattern known from other asteroids. Oocytes resume meiosis when exposed to 1-methyladenine, exhibiting conserved features such as formation of a nuclear actin shell for chromosome gathering prior to meiotic spindle assembly. Embryogenesis then proceeds through equal radial cleavages to form a ciliated blastula, followed by gastrulation via invagination and mesenchymal cell delamination. The larvae develop through typical bipinnaria and brachiolaria stages, displaying characteristic feeding structures and attachment organs. Importantly, developmental rate increases substantially at higher temperatures, consistent with the species distribution in warm Mediterranean waters. Together, these findings position H. attenuata as a promising new model for studying thermal adaptation, environmental resilience and conserved developmental mechanisms in starfish.
Matching journals
The top 10 journals account for 50% of the predicted probability mass.
Similar papers in this journal
- The marine gastropod Conomurex luhuanus (Strombidae) has high-resolution spatial vision and eyes with complex retinas 96%
- Morphological colour adaptation during development: Involvement of Growth Hormone Receptor 1 94%
- The visual ecology of Holocentridae, a nocturnal coral reef fish family with a deep-sea-like multibank retina 94%
Similar papers in this journal
- Molecular patterning during the development of Phoronopsis harmeri reveals similarities to rhynchonelliform brachiopods 94%
- Microinjection, gene knockdown, and CRISPR-mediated gene knock-in in the hard coral, Astrangia poculata 94%
- Early embryogenesis and organogenesis in the annelid Owenia fusiformis 94%
Similar papers in this journal
- Cellular pathways during spawning induction in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis 95%
- Comparing dormancy in two distantly related tunicates reveals morphological, molecular, and ecological convergences and repeated co-option 95%
- Sexual morph specialisation in a trioecious nematode balances opposing selective forces. 94%
Similar papers in this journal
Similar papers in this journal
- Increase in egg resistance to desiccation in springtails correlates with blastodermal cuticle formation: eco-evolutionary implications for insect terrestrialization 97%
- Tissue homeostasis in sponges: quantitative analysis of cell proliferation and apoptosis 95%
- Genetic architecture underlying changes in carotenoid accumulation during the evolution of the Blind Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus 93%
"Similar papers" are the closest papers from that journal in the model's embedding space. They show what the match is built on, but the ranking comes mostly from a classifier over the whole training set, not from these examples alone.