The National Sea Urchin Resource Center (NSURC): A resource for foundational sea urchin lines

PROJECT SUMMARY Transgenic animal models have been transformative tools for biomedical research. These models have been central to efforts to disentangle causal mechanisms of development, and for uncovering the early life origins of disease. Centralized Resource Centers play a key role in efficient generation, maintenance, and dissemination of these transgenic animals. The goal of this proposal, targeted to the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP), is to build a national Resource Center for the sea urchin community that will dramatically improve the reproducibility, utility, and efficiency of research in sea urchins; a classic developmental model used for more than century and studied across hundreds of NIH-supported projects since 1966. This resource will provide a consistent supply of high-quality research animals and transgenic tools, including foundational transgenic lines, and platforms for efficient, low-cost knock-in by end users. The proposal uses innovative approaches to transition the sea urchin community away from dependence on wild caught animals and transient genetics. This work will have transformative impact on research across the mandates of NIH, including studies on reproduction, morphogenesis, membrane transport, and gene regulation.