Ascidians are the invertebrate group that gave rise to vertebrates, thus the biology of ascidians provides an essential key to understanding both invertebrates and vertebrates. This book is the first to cover all areas of ascidian biology, including development, evolution, biologically active substances, heavy metal accumulation, asexual reproduction, host-defense mechanisms, allorecognition mechanisms, comparative immunology, neuroscience, taxonomy, ecology, genome science, and food science. The 69 articles that make up the collection were contributed by leading ascidiologists from all over the world who participated in the First International Symposium on the Biology of Ascidians, held in June 2000 in Sapporo, Japan. For scientists and students alike, the book is an invaluable source of information from the latest, most comprehensive studies of ascidian biology.

Ascidians, or sea squirts, are ubiquitous, sessile marine animals. In the field of developmental biology, the animal has long provided a model system for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in so-called 'mosaic' development. The book first discusses the general and basic patterns of ascidian embryogenesis. It then moves on to discuss two important ways in which heterogeneity can be generated among embryonic cells: through prelocalised egg cytoplasmic information and through cell-cell interactions. These matters are covered in detail and the book finishes with discussions of colonial ascidians, ascidian regenerative abilities (which are considerable), and the fundamental problems associated with asexual development.

This book provides a practical guide to experimental methods for studying the development of invertebrate deuterostomes, such as sea urchins, ascidians, hemichordates, and amphioxus. These model organisms are of contemporary and historical importance to the study of developmental biology, particularly genomic research. The chapters provide detailed experimental protocols that cover a broad range of topics in modern experimental methods. Topics covered range from rearing embryos to the care of adult animals, while also presenting the basic experimental methods including light and electron microscopy, used to study gene expression, transgenics, reverse genetics, and genomic approaches. * Covers a wide range of methods, from classical embryology through modern genomics * Discusses animals related to vertebrates, providing a valuable evolutionary perspective * Includes a practical guide to the use of sea urchins in the teaching laboratory

This book comprehensively describes the transgenesis techniques and applied experimental methods in ascidians including enthusiastically developed original devices in addition to concrete examples of developmental biology studies. Ascidians have been one of the most important model animals in developmental biology for studying molecular and cellular processes underlying formation of the chordate body plan. Transgenic techniques such as microinjection, electropolation, cis-element analysis and application, and TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9 have been developed in ascidians for more than 20 years, and now many applied methods, some of which are unique in ascidians, have been accumulated. Those extensive technological innovations, such as cell isolation, cell labeling, germ-line transformation, marker transgenic lines, and the experimental systems for studying notochord formation and nervous system, are exceptional particularly in marine invertebrates. This book is useful for ascidian researchers to quickly access the techniques in which they are interested as well as to compare each technology to become familiar with specialized tips, and for biologists of other organisms to learn the unique techniques and ingenious attempts specific to ascidians. Providing detailed and easily understandable descriptions of techniques, the book will inspire ascidian specialists to improve their techniques, encourage anyone wanting to begin studying ascidians, and enable readers to immediately apply the techniques to the organisms they research.

The simplicity and lack of redundancy in their regulatory genes have made ascidians one of the most useful species in studying developmental genomics. In Developmental Genomics of Ascidians, Dr. Noriyuki Satoh explains the developmental genomics of ascidians, stresses the simplicity of Ciona developmental system, and emphasizes single-cell level analyses. This book actively accentuates the advantages of using ascidians as model organisms in an up-and-coming field of developmental genomics.