Crisiella producta: Autozooid and gonozooid transcriptomes
Placentotrophy is one of the most widespread strategies for nourishing offspring among matrotrophic invertebrates, having evolved independently numerous times across at least 16 metazoan phyla. Despite its prevalence, the genetic and molecular mechanisms underpinning the development and function of placental analogues in invertebrates remain unknown. In this study, we investigated gene expression dynamics associated with the development and function of the gonozooid and its coenocytic placental analogue in the cyclostome bryozoan Crisiella producta. To accomplish this, we conducted RNA sequencing and transcriptome analyses across three developmental stages of gonozooids (the reproductive modules of the colony) and compared them with autozooids (the feeding modules).