Genome editing in ascidians

Abstract

Genome editing has the potential to provide new approaches to investigate biological questions, and can provide simpler experimental approaches than more established techniques. Tunicates are a group of diverse marine organisms found in seas throughout the world. Tunicates, and in particular, ascidians are attractive model organisms, particularly for the experimental study of early animal development due to the relative simplicity of development, and the wide range of experimental techniques available, particularly for Ciona intestinalis. In this chapter we will discuss the current state of techniques for performing gene knockdowns or knockouts in ascidians and describe the recent progress in using recently developed genome editing technologies utilizing custom nucleases. These new experimental approaches are particularly suited to investigating the later stages of ascidian development, after the tailbud embryo has formed, and have the potential to open up exciting new opportunities to understand the unknown processes of animal development.