title: Insights into spawning behavior and development of the European amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum).
abstract: The cephalochordate amphioxus (Branchiostoma sp.) is an important animal model for studying the evolution of chordate developmental mechanisms. Obtaining amphioxus embryos is a key step for these studies. It has been shown that an increase of 3-4 degrees C in water temperature triggers spawning of the European amphioxus (Branchiostoma lanceolatum) in captivity, however, very little is known about the natural spawning behavior of this species in the field. In this work, we have followed the spawning behavior of the European amphioxus during two spawning seasons (2004 and 2005), both in the field and in captivity. We show that animals in the field spawn approximately from mid-May through early July, but depending on the year, they show different patterns of spawning. Thus, even if temperature has a critical role in the induction of the spawning in captivity, it is not the major factor in the field. Moreover, we report some improvements on the methodology for inducing spawning in captivity (e.g. in maintenance, light cycle control and induction of spawning in a laboratory without running sea water system). These studies have important implications for amphioxus animal husbandry and for improving laboratory techniques to develop amphioxus as an experimental animal model.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Arago, UMR7628 CNRS, University Pierre and Marie Curie-Paris6 Banyuls sur Mer, F-66650, France.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.forename: Elia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Benito
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paris
authors.forename: Aurelie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mignardot
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Godoy
authors.forename: Senda
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jimenez-Delgado
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oliveri
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Candiani
authors.forename: Estelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hirsinger
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Aniello
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pascual-Anaya
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Maeso
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pestarino
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vernier
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laudet
authors.forename: Anne Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Geneviere
authors.forename: Ricard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Albalat
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia Fernandez
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Escriva
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002816:Chordata, Nonvertebrate / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction