Improved protocol for spawning and immunostaining embryos and juvenile stages of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi

Abstract

Ctenophores are becoming of increasing interest to researchers interested in cellular and developmental evolutionary biology. One species, Mnemiopsis leidyi, has been one of the most heavily studied ctenophores due to its availability and because it was the first ctenophore to have its genome sequenced and made publicly available. However, their gelatinous and delicate consistency makes experimental handling challenging and time­consuming. Here we describe improvements for scheduling adult spawning and new handling techniques for further histological and molecular analyses. We hope that this contribution will establish an opportunity for other workers to improve these methods and allow a rapid increase in our understanding of ctenophore biology.