Environmental sensing and response genes in cnidaria: the chemical defensome in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis.

ABSTRACT: The starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis has been recently established as a new model system for the study of the evolution of developmental processes, as cnidaria occupy a key evolutionary position at the base of the bilateria. Cnidaria play important roles in estuarine and reef communities, but are exposed to many environmental stressors. Here, I describe the genetic components of a "chemical defensome" in the genome of N. vectensis and review cnidarian molecular toxicology. Gene families that defend against chemical stressors and the transcription factors that regulate these genes have been termed a chemical defensome and include the cytochromes P450 and other oxidases, various conjugating enyzymes, the ATP-dependent efflux transporters, oxidative detoxification proteins, as well

SUBMITTER: Goldstone JV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2811067 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature