School of Life Sciences, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2021 May 24;376(1825):20200163. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0163. Epub 2021 Apr 5.
Molluscs are among the most ancient, diverse, and important of all animal taxa. Even so, no individual mollusc species has emerged as a broadly applied model system in biology. We here make the case that both perceptual and methodological barriers have played a role in the relative neglect of molluscs as research organisms. We then summarize the current application and potential of molluscs and their genomes to address important questions in animal biology, and the state of the field when it comes to the availability of resources such as genome assemblies, cell lines, and other key elements necessary to mobilising the development of molluscan model systems. We conclude by contending that a cohesive research community that works together to elevate multiple molluscan systems to 'model' status will create new opportunities in addressing basic and applied biological problems, including general features of animal evolution. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Molluscan genomics: broad insights and future directions for a neglected phylum'.
软体动物是所有动物中最古老、最多样化和最重要的一类。即便如此，在生物学中，没有一个单一的软体动物物种成为广泛应用的模式系统。我们在这里提出，感知和方法上的障碍在软体动物作为研究生物的相对忽视中发挥了作用。然后，我们总结了软体动物及其基因组目前在解决动物生物学重要问题中的应用和潜力，以及在获得基因组组装、细胞系和其他必要的关键要素方面的现状，这些要素对于推动软体动物模型系统的发展是必要的。最后，我们认为，一个有凝聚力的研究社区，共同努力将多个软体动物系统提升到“模型”地位，将为解决基础和应用生物学问题创造新的机会，包括动物进化的一般特征。本文是主题为“软体动物基因组学：被忽视的门的广泛见解和未来方向”的 Theo Murphy 会议专刊的一部分。
