Ebert Dieter
Department of Environmental Sciences, Zoology, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, CH-4051, Basel, Switzerland.
Evodevo. 2022 Aug 8;13(1):16. doi: 10.1186/s13227-022-00199-0.
Water fleas of the genus Daphnia have been a model system for hundreds of years and is among the best studied ecological model organisms to date. Daphnia are planktonic crustaceans with a cyclic parthenogenetic life-cycle. They have a nearly worldwide distribution, inhabiting standing fresh- and brackish water bodies, from small temporary pools to large lakes. Their predominantly asexual reproduction allows for the study of phenotypes excluding genetic variation, enabling us to separate genetic from non-genetic effects. Daphnia are often used in studies related to ecotoxicology, predator-induced defence, host-parasite interactions, phenotypic plasticity and, increasingly, in evolutionary genomics. The most commonly studied species are Daphnia magna and D. pulex, for which a rapidly increasing number of genetic and genomic tools are available. Here, I review current research topics, where the Daphnia model system plays a critical role.
水蚤属的水蚤数百年来一直是一个模型系统，是迄今为止研究得最为深入的生态模式生物之一。水蚤是具有周期性孤雌生殖生命周期的浮游甲壳类动物。它们几乎遍布全球，栖息于静止的淡水和微咸水体中，从小型临时水塘到大型湖泊都有它们的身影。它们主要进行无性繁殖，这使得对排除遗传变异的表型进行研究成为可能，使我们能够区分遗传效应和非遗传效应。水蚤经常被用于与生态毒理学、捕食者诱导防御、宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用、表型可塑性相关的研究，并且越来越多地用于进化基因组学研究。研究最普遍的物种是大型水蚤和蚤状溞，针对它们已有越来越多的遗传和基因组工具。在此，我将综述当前的研究主题，其中水蚤模型系统发挥着关键作用。
