The marine polychaete annelid Platynereis dumerilii has recently emerged as a prominent organism for the study of development, evolution, stem cells, regeneration, marine ecology, chronobiology and neurobiology within metazoans. Its phylogenetic position within the spiralian/ lophotrochozoan clade, the comparatively high conservation of ancestral features in the Platynereis genome, and experimental access to any stage within its life cycle, make Platynereis an important model for elucidating the complex regulatory and functional molecular mechanisms governing early development, later organogenesis, and various features of its larval and adult life. |
