The Developmental Transcriptome for Lytechinus variegatus Exhibits Temporally Punctuated Gene Expression Changes

AbstractEmbryonic development is arguably the most complex process an organism undergoes during its lifetime, and understanding this complexity is best approached with a systems-level perspective. The sea urchin has become a highly valuable model organism for understanding developmental specification, morphogenesis, and evolution. As a non-chordate deuterostome, the sea urchin occupies an important evolutionary niche between protostomes and vertebrates.Lytechinus variegatus(Lv) is an Atlantic species that has been well studied, and which has provided important insights into signal transduction, patterning, and morphogenetic changes during embryonic and larval development. The Pacific specie…