The epithelium of the pharynx contributes to the formation of gills in hemichordates,
urochordates, cephalochordates and primitive vertebrates, and is therefore a key structure for …

Background The draft genome sequence of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis, along with associated
gene models, has been a valuable research resource. However, recently accumulated …

The Pax6 gene plays a developmental role in various metazoans as the master regulatory
gene for eye patterning. Pax6 is also spatially regulated in particular regions of the neural tube…

The endostyle is a pharyngeal organ for the internal filter feeding of urochordates,
cephalochordates, and larval lamprey. This organ is also considered to be homologous to the …

Key transmembrane proteins in the innate immune system, Toll-like receptors (TLRs), have
been suggested to occur in the genome of non-mammalian organisms including …

Comparison of 12,230 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of 3′ ends of cDNA clones derived
from young adults of Ciona intestinalis allowed us to categorize them into 976 independent …

The phylogenetic position of ascidians as the chordate invertebrates closest to vertebrates
suggests that they might possess homologs and/or prototypes of vertebrate peptide hormones …

Tachykinins (TKs) are the most prevalent vertebrate brain/gut peptides. In this study, we
originally identified authentic TKs and their receptor from a protochordate, Ciona intestinalis. The …

The vasopressin (VP)/oxytocin (OT) superfamily peptides are one of the most widely
distributed neuropeptides and/or neurohypophysial hormones, but have ever not been …

The endostyle is a pharyngeal organ of uro- chordates, cephalochordates, and primitive
vertebrates. This organ has iodine-concentrating and iodine-metabolism activities, and therefore …