Botrylloides violaceus

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Botrylloides violaceus
Botrylloides violaceus.jpg
Botrylloides violaceus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Stolidobranchia
Family: Styelidae
Genus: Botrylloides
Species:
B. violaceus
Binomial name
Botrylloides violaceus
(Oka, 1927) [1]

Botrylloides violaceus is a colonial ascidian. It is commonly known as the chain tunicate, [2] but has also been called several other common names, including: lined colonial tunicate, orange sheath tunicate, orange tunicate, and violet tunicate. [3] Its native range is in the northwest Pacific from southern China to Japan and Siberia. [4] Colonies grow on solid substrates and consist of individuals arranged in twisting rows. Outside its native range, it is considered an invasive species and is becoming more common in coastal waters of North America and other waters around the world, likely being spread by shipping industries. [5]

Contents

In the San Francisco Bay area, B. violaceus can be readily found on boat docks in the Richmond Marina. [6] The ecological impact of B. violaceus in this region remains unknown.

Morphology

Zooids are embedded in a transparent tunic and connected by a network of blood vessels that terminate in ampullae (small sac-like structures) at the periphery of the colony. Colony color varies from bright orange to reddish or dull purple. These tunicates usually have 8 branchial tentacles and 11 rows of stigmata. [7]

Significance and Interest

Colonial ascidians are the only known chordates capable of regenerating all body tissues. Because of chordates' close developmental relationship to vertebrates, [8] the regenerative processes in colonial ascidians are of great interest to researchers. Whole body regeneration can be observed in B. violaceus after removal of all body tissues except the peripheral vasculature, suggesting the presence of circulating pluripotent or totipotent stem cells in the blood. [9] [10] The first draft genome of B. violaceus was published in 2023. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chordate</span> Phylum of animals having a dorsal nerve cord

A chordate is a deuterostomic bilaterial animal belonging to the phylum Chordata. All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five distinctive physical characteristics (synapomorphies) that distinguish them from other taxa. These five synapomorphies are a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, an endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail.

Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and differentiation of stem cells in the adult organism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertebrate</span> Subphylum of chordates with backbones

Vertebrates are deuterostomal animals with bony or cartilaginous axial endoskeleton — known as the vertebral column, spine or backbone — around and along the spinal cord, including all fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The vertebrates consist of all the taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata and represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 69,963 species described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craniate</span> Clade of chordates, member of the Craniata

A craniate is a member of the Craniata, a proposed clade of chordate animals with a skull of hard bone or cartilage. Living representatives are the Myxini (hagfishes), Hyperoartia, and the much more numerous Gnathostomata. Formerly distinct from vertebrates by excluding hagfish, molecular and anatomical research in the 21st century has led to the reinclusion of hagfish as vertebrates, making living craniates synonymous with living vertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunicate</span> Marine animals, subphylum of chordates

A tunicate is an exclusively marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata. This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords. The subphylum was at one time called Urochordata, and the term urochordates is still sometimes used for these animals. They are the only chordates that have lost their myomeric segmentation, with the possible exception of the seriation of the gill slits. However, doliolids still display segmentation of the muscle bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larvacean</span> Class of marine animals in the subphylum Tunicata

Larvaceans or appendicularians, class Appendicularia, are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. While larvaceans are filter feeders like most other tunicates, they keep their tadpole-like shape as adults, with the notochord running through the tail. They can be found in the pelagic zone, specifically in the photic zone, or sometimes deeper. They are transparent planktonic animals, usually ranging from 2 mm (0.079 in) to 8 mm (0.31 in) in body length including the tail, although giant larvaceans can reach up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ascidiacea</span> Paraphyletic group of tunicates comprising sea squirts

Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians or sea squirts, is a paraphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of a polysaccharide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancelet</span> Order of chordates

The lancelets, also known as amphioxi, consist of 32 described species of "fish-like" benthic filter feeding chordates in the subphylum Cephalochordata, class Leptocardii, and family Branchiostomatidae.

<i>Ciona intestinalis</i> Species of ascidian

Ciona intestinalis is an ascidian, 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. 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. Studies conducted between 2005 and 2010 have shown that there are at least two, possibly four, sister species. More recently it has been shown that one of these species has already been described as Ciona robusta. By anthropogenic means, the species has invaded various parts of the world and is known as an invasive species.

<i>Botryllus schlosseri</i> Species of sea squirt

Botryllus schlosseri is a colonial ascidian tunicate. It is commonly known as the star tunicate, but it also has several other common names, including star ascidian and golden star tunicate. Colonies grow on slow-moving, submerged objects, plants, and animals in nearshore saltwater environments.

<i>Botrylloides leachii</i> Species of sea squirt

Botrylloides leachii is a colonial tunicate of the family Styelidae. Its unique methods of propagation and regeneration make it an ideal model organism for use in biological study of development, immunology, stem cells, and regeneration.

The 2R hypothesis or Ohno's hypothesis, first proposed by Susumu Ohno in 1970, is a hypothesis that the genomes of the early vertebrate lineage underwent two whole genome duplications, and thus modern vertebrate genomes reflect paleopolyploidy. The name derives from the 2 rounds of duplication originally hypothesized by Ohno, but refined in a 1994 version, and the term 2R hypothesis was probably coined in 1999. Variations in the number and timings of genome duplications typically still are referred to as examples of the 2R hypothesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine invertebrates</span> Marine animals without a vertebral column

Marine invertebrates are the invertebrates that live in marine habitats. Invertebrate is a blanket term that includes all animals apart from the vertebrate members of the chordate phylum. Invertebrates lack a vertebral column, and some have evolved a shell or a hard exoskeleton. As on land and in the air, marine invertebrates have a large variety of body plans, and have been categorised into over 30 phyla. They make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deuterostome</span> Superphylum of bilateral animals

Deuterostomes are bilaterian animals of the superphylum Deuterostomia, typically characterized by their anus forming before the mouth during embryonic development. Deuterostomia is further divided into four phyla: Chordata, Echinodermata, Hemichordata, and the extinct Vetulicolia known from Cambrian fossils. The extinct clade Cambroernida is thought to be a member of Deuterostomia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic invasive species in Canada</span>

Canadian aquatic invasive species are all forms of life that traditionally has not been native to Canada's waterways. In Eastern Canada, non-native plant and animal species are a concern to biologists. Bringing non-native species such as invasive fishes into Canada can damage the environment and ecosystem by repressing native species due to food competition or preying. Invasive fishes enter the fresh waters of Canada in several ways including drifting, deliberate introduction, accidental release, experimental purposes and, most commonly, through the attachment on international boat hulls. Invasive species are the second biggest threat to fish and other marine life in Canada behind loss of habitat and degradation. The threat to native species is primarily caused by impacts on the food web; however, invasive species also bring dangerous pathogens and physically interfere with existing aquatic life. Invasive species include sea lampreys, zebra mussels, smallmouth bass, European green crab, vase tunicate, and sea squirts.

<i>Styela plicata</i> Species of sea squirt

Styela plicata, commonly known as pleated sea squirt, is a species of tunicate in the family Styelidae. This sessile filter feeder can expel water when threatened.

<i>Oikopleura dioica</i> Species of tunicate

Oikopleura dioica is a species of small pelagic tunicate found in the surface waters of most of the world's oceans. It is used as a model organism in research into developmental biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olfactores</span> Clade of animals comprising vertebrates and tunicates

Olfactores is a clade within the Chordata that comprises the Tunicata (Urochordata) and the Vertebrata. Olfactores represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, as the Cephalochordata are the only chordates not included in the clade. This clade is defined by a more advanced olfactory system which, in the immediate vertebrate generation, gave rise to nostrils.

Polyandrocarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates within the family Styelidae.

Billie J. Swalla is a professor of biology at the University of Washington. She was the first female director of Friday Harbor Laboratories, where she worked from 2012 to 2019. Her lab investigates the evolution of chordates by comparative genetic and phylogenetic analysis of animal taxa.

References

  1. Gittenberger, Arjan (2015). "Botrylloides violaceus Oka, 1927". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2016-02-25.
  2. Lorne Curran and Samuel Chan. "Invasive tunicates in the Pacific Northwest" (PDF). Oregon Sea Grant.
  3. "Purple Colonial Tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus)". WhatsThatFish.
  4. Cohen, Andrew N. (2005). "Botrylloides violaceus". Guide to the Exotic Species of San Francisco Bay. San Francisco Estuary Institute. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  5. Fuller, Pam (2006-04-24). "NAS - Species FactSheet (Botrylloides violaceus)". USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  6. Stephen Foss. "A Survey of Non-indigenous Aquatic Species in San Francisco Bay Updated July 2009 California Department of Fish and Game / Office of Spill Prevention and Response San Jose State University Foundation / Moss Landing Marine Laboratories".
  7. "Fact sheet 15" (PDF). NON-INDIGENOUS AQUATIC SPECIES OF CONCERN FOR ALASKA. Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council. 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  8. Delsuc, Frédéric; Brinkmann, Henner; Chourrout, Daniel; Philippe, Hervé (23 February 2006). "Tunicates and not cephalochordates are the closest living relatives of vertebrates". Nature. 439 (7079): 965–968. Bibcode:2006Natur.439..965D. doi:10.1038/nature04336. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   16495997. S2CID   4382758.
  9. Brown, Federico (2009). "Whole body regeneration in a colonial ascidian, Botrylloides violaceus". Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 312B (8): 885–900. doi:10.1002/jez.b.21303. PMID   19588490.
  10. Rinkevich, B (1995). "Whole-body protochordate regeneration from totipotent blood cells". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 92 (17): 7695–7699. Bibcode:1995PNAS...92.7695R. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.17.7695 . PMC   41212 . PMID   11607571.
  11. Sumner, Jack T; Andrasz, Cassidy L; Johnson, Christine A; Wax, Sarah; Anderson, Paul; Keeling, Elena L; Davidson, Jean M (2023-08-09). "De novo genome assembly and comparative genomics for the colonial ascidian Botrylloides violaceus". G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 13 (10). doi:10.1093/g3journal/jkad181. ISSN   2160-1836. PMC   10542563 . PMID   37555394.