The crustacean Daphnia pulex is one of the best model organisms for studying inducible defense mechanisms due to their inducible morphology in response to the predator Chaoborus larvae. In this study, multiple developmental stages of D. pulex were exposed to C. flavicans larvae and transcriptome profiles of samples from late embryo to fifth instar were sequenced by the RNA-seq technique to investigate the genetic background underlying inducible defenses. In comparison, differentially expressed genes between defensive and normal morphs were identified, including 908 genes in late embryo, 1383 genes in the first-third (1–3) instar, and 1042 genes in fourth-fifth (4–5) instar. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed that structural constituents of the cuticle and structural molecule activity genes were prominent up-regulated genes in late embryos. Down-regulated genes in late embryos and 1–3 instar comprised metabolic process, hydrolase activity, and peptidase activity gene classes. Pathway analysis indicated that small molecule neurotransmitter pathways were potentially involved in the development of inducible defenses. The characterization of genes and pathways in multiple developmental stages can improve our understanding of inducible defense responses of D. pulex to predation at the molecular level.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Chilean sea urchin Loxechinus albus, the single species of the genus Loxechinus, is determined. The circular mitogenome is 15,709 bp in length containing 2 rRNA, 22 tRNA and 13 protein coding genes as well as the control region. The gene order is identical to those of described Camarodonta species. There are 24 bp gene overlaps at 6 locations and 124 bp intergenic spacers at 17 boundaries. The nucleotide composition of the genome is 31.2% A, 22.3% C, 29.7% T, and 16.8% G. The A+T bias (60.9%) is similar to that of P. lividus (60.3%) but slightly higher than those of strongylocentrotid species (58.8-59.8%). The mitogenome sequence of L. albus will provide valuable information on the phylogeny and evolution of the genus Loxechinus in relation to other Camarodonta sea urchins.

The complete nucleotide of mitochondrial DNA of a sea urchin Mesocentrotus nudus was determined for the first time. It is 15,709 bp in length, containing 2 rRNA, 22 tRNA and 13 protein-coding genes generally found in other echinoderm species. The gene order and structure of the genome are identical to those of other Strongylocentrotidae species. The genome was composed of 29.3% A, 23.4% C, 29.5% T and 17.8% G, showing a slight AT bias (58.8%). The G is the least used base and markedly lower at the third codon position (12.74%). Twelve of the 13 mitochondrial protein-coding genes use ATG as their start codon while the ATP8 gene starts with GTG. The control region is 125 bp in length and contains a G-stretch of 19 nucleotides, a typical DNA structure of the echinoid mitochondrial genomes.

We determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the marine polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis (Grube, 1878) (Phyllodocida, Nereididae), a dominant species in the mudflat of the West Pacific and Indian Ocean. The complete genome of P. aibuhitensis is 15,852 bp in size including 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA and 22 tRNA with the same gene order and structure as those of other Nereididae species. The nucleotide composition is 29.5% A, 21.2% C, 14.1% G, 35.2% T, showing a high content of A+T with G being used least in the third codon position (6.7%). All PCGs use ATG as the start codon while for the stop codon COI and ND1 use incomplete codon of T. The mitogenome sequence of P. aibuhitensis is second to that of P. nuntia known in the genus Perinereis, which will provide useful information for understanding evolutionary history of the genus Perinereis within the family Nereididae.

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