Transgenic Nematostella

Nematostella vectensis, commonly known as the starlet sea anemone, is a cnidarian that is gaining a reputation as a model organism in biology (Layden et al., 2016). N. vectensis can be found in estuaries on the eastern and western coasts of the United States, as well as the southeastern coast of England. As is typical with anthozoans, this organism has a simple morphology with 16 tentacles, three germ layers (i.e., ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm), an oral cavity, a gut that acts as a sac for gastrulation, a pharynx with 8 white distinctive lines that run down its body containing cells for stinging (cnidocytes), reproductive organs (gonads), a simple nerve net, and myoepithelial cells. Additionally, N. vectensis can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Asexual reproduction occurs when the N. vectensis is cut or broken in half and regenerates the missing portion of its body (I have done this in the laboratory). This species is dioecious and reproduces sexually with individuals producing and releasing egg or sperm into the water column with external fertilization. The timing of gamete release is controlled by environmental and developmental factors (Stefanik et al., 2013). N. vectensis has been successfully cultured in research labs (Stefanik et al., 2012) and has many advantages as a model cnidarian. It’s small size, ease of culture, environmental regulation of spawning, and low maintenance makes it ideal. It addition, the fact that the genome of this organism has been sequenced (Sullivan et al., 2006), has been genetically transformed (by microinjection only; (Ikmi and Gibson, 2010), and has been modified by CRISPR/Cas9 (Ikmi et al., 2014) add to the allure of this organism for biological experimentation.