title: Ascidian embryogenesis and the origins of the chordate body plan.
abstract: For more than a century, ascidians have been a widely used system for classic embryological studies. Ascidians possess simple, well-defined cell-lineages, compact genomes, rapid development and world-wide distribution. Transgenic DNA can be introduced into developing embryos using simple electroporation methods. The ascidian larva represents the most simplified chordate body plan and provides a useful model for studying the molecular pathways underlying the morphogenesis and differentiation of the notochord and neural tube.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720, USA. annadg@uclink4.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Gregorio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002816:Chordata, Nonvertebrate; D009132:Muscles; D009672:Notochord; D014561:Urochordata / Q000196:embryology*