Ciona intestinalis

Ciona intestinalis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Phlebobranchia
Family: Cionidae
Genus: Ciona
Species:
C. intestinalis
Binomial name
Ciona intestinalis
(Linnaeus, 1767)

Ciona intestinalis (sometimes known by the common name of vase tunicate) is an ascidian (sea squirt), a tunicate with very soft tunic. Its Latin name literally means "pillar of intestines", referring to the fact that its body is a soft, translucent column-like structure, resembling a mass of intestines sprouting from a rock.[1] It is a globally distributed cosmopolitan species. Since Linnaeus described the species, Ciona intestinalis has been used as a model invertebrate chordate in developmental biology and genomics.[2] Studies conducted between 2005 and 2010 have shown that there are at least two, possibly four, sister species.[3][4][5] More recently it has been shown that one of these species has already been described as Ciona robusta.[6] By anthropogenic means, the species has invaded various parts of the world and is known as an invasive species.[7][8]

Although Linnaeus first categorised this species as a kind of mollusk, Alexander Kovalevsky found a tadpole-like larval stage during development that shows similarity to vertebrates. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies as well as phylogenomic studies support that sea squirts are the closest invertebrate relatives of vertebrates.[9] Its full genome has been sequenced using a specimen from Half Moon Bay in California, US,[10] showing a very small genome size, less than 1/20 of the human genome, but having a gene corresponding to almost every family of genes in vertebrates.

  1. ^ Lane, Nick (2010-06-14). Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 192. ISBN 978-0393338669.
  2. ^ Satoh, Nori (2003). "The ascidian tadpole larva: comparative molecular development and genomics". Nature Reviews Genetics. 4 (4): 285–295. doi:10.1038/nrg1042. PMID 12671659. S2CID 27548417.
  3. ^ Suzuki, Miho M; Nishikawa T; Bird A (2005). "Genomic approaches reveal unexpected genetic divergence within Ciona intestinalis". J Mol Evol. 61 (5): 627–635. Bibcode:2005JMolE..61..627S. doi:10.1007/s00239-005-0009-3. PMID 16205978. S2CID 5173.
  4. ^ Caputi, Luisi; Andreakis N; Mastrototaro F; Cirino P; Vassillo M; Sordino P (2007). "Cryptic speciation in a model invertebrate chordate". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 104 (22): 9364–9369. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.9364C. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610158104. PMC 1890500. PMID 17517633.
  5. ^ Zhan, A; Macisaac HJ; Cristescu ME (2010). "Invasion genetics of the Ciona intestinalis species complex: from regional endemism to global homogeneity". Molecular Ecology. 19 (21): 4678–4694. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2010.04837.x. PMID 20875067. S2CID 205363202.
  6. ^ Brunetti, Riccardo; Gissi C; Pennati R; Caicci F; Gasparini F; Manni L (2015). "Morphological evidence that the molecularly determined Ciona intestinalis type A and type B are different species: Ciona robusta and Ciona intestinalis". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 53 (3): 186–193. doi:10.1111/jzs.12101. hdl:11577/3155577.
  7. ^ Blum, J.C.; Chang, AL.; Liljesthröm, M.; Schenk, M.E.; Steinberg, M.K.; Ruiz, G.M. (2007). "The non-native solitary ascidian Ciona intestinalis (L.) depresses species richness". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 342: 5–14. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2006.10.010.
  8. ^ Herridge, Paul (June 11, 2013). "The vase tunicate has landed". The Southern Gazette. Marystown, Newfoundland and Labrador. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  9. ^ Putnam, NH; Butts T; Ferrier DE; Furlong RF; Fellsten U; et al. (June 2008). "The amphioxus genome and the evolution of the chordate karyotype". Nature. 453 (7198): 1064–71. Bibcode:2008Natur.453.1064P. doi:10.1038/nature06967. PMID 18563158.
  10. ^ Dehal, P; Satou Y; Campbell RK; et al. (December 2002). "The draft genome of Ciona intestinalis: insights into chordate and vertebrate origins" (PDF). Science. 298 (5601): 2157–2166. Bibcode:2002Sci...298.2157D. doi:10.1126/science.1080049. PMID 12481130. S2CID 15987281. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2019-09-26.