TY - JOUR TI - An organismal perspective on C. intestinalis development, origins and diversification AU - Kourakis, Matthew J AU - Smith, William C VL - 4 PY - 2015 DA - 2015/03/25 SP - e06024 C1 - eLife 2015;4:e06024 DO - 10.7554/eLife.06024 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06024 AB - The ascidian Ciona intestinalis, commonly known as a ‘sea squirt’, has become an important model for embryological studies, offering a simple blueprint for chordate development. As a model organism, it offers the following: a small, compact genome; a free swimming larva with only about 2600 cells; and an embryogenesis that unfolds according to a predictable program of cell division. Moreover, recent phylogenies reveal that C. intestinalis occupies a privileged branch in the tree of life: it is our nearest invertebrate relative. Here, we provide an organismal perspective of C. intestinalis, highlighting aspects of its life history and habitat—from its brief journey as a larva to its radical metamorphosis into adult form—and relate these features to its utility as a laboratory model. KW - the natural history of model organism KW - C. intestinalis KW - chordate KW - tunicate JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -