![]() ![]() Embryonic development features a prominent mesentoblast and epibolic gastrulation. They sport a highly branched gut (the name-giving feature of the Polycladida), and they have retained certain developmental characteristics common to other spiralian taxa, such as endolecithal eggs and (at least partially) spiral cleavage. ![]() The Polycladida are among the earliest branching Platyhelminthes. They are members of the Spiralia, and, with recent evidence supporting the exclusion of the Acoelomorpha and Xenoturbellida (see, for example, ), they comprise two monophyletic groups: the Catenulida and the Rhabditophora, with the latter including the Polycladida. ![]() Platyhelminthes, or flatworms, are a group of soft-bodied, usually hermaphroditic invertebrates especially renowned for their neoblast stem cell system and their pronounced ability to regenerate. crozieri and its development, we highlight the advantages and current limitations of this animal as a potential evo-devo model and discuss current lines of research. These characteristics have facilitated the generation of a transcriptome from embryonic and larval material and are enabling us to develop methods for gene expression analysis and immunofluorescence techniques. We have selected Maritigrella crozieri, the tiger flatworm, as a suitable polyclad species for developmental studies, because it is abundant and large in size compared to other species. ![]() Past work has focused on comparing early cleavage patterns and larval anatomy between polyclads and other spiralians. Unlike most other flatworms, polyclads undergo spiral cleavage (similar to that seen in some other spiralian taxa), they are the only free-living flatworms where development via a larval stage occurs, and they are the only flatworms in which embryos can be reared outside of their protective egg case, enabling embryonic manipulations. They provide an interesting system with which to explore the evolution of development within Platyhelminthes and amongst Spiralia (Lophotrochozoa). Polyclad flatworms are an early branching clade within the rhabditophoran Platyhelminthes. ![]()
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