Artificial Induction of Vegetalization and Exogastrulation in Sea Urchin Embryos

Students: Mary-Kate Boatman, Cassidy Nettles

Faculty Mentor: Lisa Hua

Biology

College of Science, Technology, and Business

In sea urchins, the development of the archenteron—an important structure in reproduction—can exhibit developmental processes such as invagination rather than exogastrulation. These processes may be influenced by the chemicals lithium chloride (LiCl) and phenanthrene. By adding varying quantities of LiCl to different test tubes containing fertilized sea urchin eggs, we observed its effects on the development of exogastrulae. Our results indicate that the presence of lithium in the samples promotes vegetalization, which refers to the development of the vegetal half of the embryo more than the animal half. This resulted in expanded vegetal structures and the formation of exogastrulae.