Molecular, cellular and phylogenetic aspects of selective inhibition of early periods in metazoan ontogenesis by sponge and other substances

受精后，海星（Asterina pectinifera）的胚胎发育成囊胚，然后经历原肠胚形成肠，并产生摄食的bipinnaria幼虫。幼虫然后采取一个更复杂的形式称为brachioraria幼虫。从海绵中获得的几种物质专门阻止海星胚胎在囊胚或原肠胚阶段的发育。 对模拟这些物质作用的合成化合物进行了筛选搜索，但没有检测到这样的化合物。然后，研究重点是通过显微注射吗啉代反义寡核苷酸，使海星胚胎中遗传学上独特的蛋白质--核转氨酶丧失的影响。注射的胚胎发育正常，通过胚胎和bipinnaria阶段，但不能形成正常的腕足。这一结果表明，独特的蛋白质参与了海星个体发育后期的形态发生事件。

Following fertilization, the starfish, Asterina pectinifera, embryo develops to the blastula and then undergoes gastrulation to form a gut and create a feeding bipinnaria larva. The larva then takes on a more elaborate form called a brachioraria larva. Several substances obtained from sponges specifically prevent starfish embryonic development at the blastula or the gastrula stages. Screening search for synthetic compounds which mimic the action of these substances was undertaken but such compounds were not detected.The study was then focused on the effect of loss of nuclear transglutaminase, a protein that is phylogenetically unique in the starfish embryo, by microinjecting the morpholino antisense oligonucleotide. The injected embryo developed normally through the embryonic and bipinnaria stages but was unable to form normal brachioraria. This result suggests that the unique protein is involved in the morphogenetic event at the latter period in the starfish ontogeny.