Scientists make ground-breaking discovery about sea urchins

Sea urchins are assisting scientists in a laboratory in La Jolla with ground-breaking discoveries made by a team of dedicated scientists led by marine biologist Amro Hamdoun.

Hamdon explained that the species they are using for this study is Lytechinus pictus. These sea urchins are indigenous to the waters off southern California and go by the name painted sea urchins.

As each of them creates a large number of eggs, one of them will create several million eggs, so scientists should be able to do this study in the lab. These new research model species will accelerate the pace of marine biomedical research.

It has been more than a century since sea urchins were used in studies like fruit flies or laboratory rats. In sea urchins, the protein family known as cyclins, which directs cell division, existed before this development.

A Nobel Prize was awarded to the researchers who discovered the cyclin as a result of this understanding. Marine scientists have long used sea urchins as model organisms, but Hamdoun says their lack of fixed genetics has caused a bottleneck.

Researchers who use urchins in their laboratories will benefit greatly from this genetically enhanced urchin. A silver lining emerged from the COVID pandemic, which adversely affected operations at research facilities across the country for more than two years.

Hamdoun's lab was filled with a sense of purpose that encouraged the team members to carry on. Hamdoun said it gave them something valuable to focus on. As a result, the team worked tirelessly for two years to overcome the obstacles in the way of creating a sea urchin with genetic abilities.

It is a testament to the team's dedication that they managed to do this despite the challenges. Porcupines are considered to be the marine equivalent of sea urchins.

As per WHOI, these creatures rely on their long spines to protect them from hungry predators. Sea urchins are named after a species of hedgehog related to the porcupine in America, the prickly hedgehog.

In general, sea urchins can be picked up without causing injury, except for the long-spined sea urchin found in south Florida that has toxic, sharp spines that may pierce human flesh. There are more benign types of sea urchins in northern, colder waters, such as purple and green sea urchins.

The sea urchin belongs to the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes sea stars, sand dollars, sea lilies, and sea cucumbers. It is impossible to see through the spines of sea urchins, even though they have a hard exterior body like their cousins.

Tests are made up of ten fused plates that surround the sea urchin-like segments of an orange. Sea urchins can stretch their tubed feet via holes in every other segment. These feet are governed by the water vascular system. To walk, an animal can adjust the quantity of water in its feet to increase or decrease its length.

The sea urchin's spines fall off when it dies, leaving only the test. When you look closely at a test, you can see little bumps covering the area where the spines were linked. It used to be that the base of the spines covered the hump like a tight-fitting cap. There is a large range of rotation around this hump for the spines. In a living sea urchin, the spines can be moved by manipulating .