Early lineage specification of long-lived germline precursors in the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri.

ABSTRACT: In many taxa, germline precursors segregate from somatic lineages during embryonic development and are irreversibly committed to gametogenesis. However, in animals that can propagate asexually, germline precursors can originate in adults. Botryllus schlosseri is a colonial ascidian that grows by asexual reproduction, and on a weekly basis regenerates all somatic and germline tissues. Embryonic development in solitary ascidians is the classic example of determinative specification, and we are interested in both the origins and the persistence of stem cells responsible for asexual development in colonial ascidians. In this study, we characterized vasa as a putative marker of germline precursors. We found that maternally deposited vasa mRNA segregates early in development to a posterior linea

SUBMITTER: Brown FD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2752397 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature