Aretemia franciscana as viewed under a microscope.  Note the red eyespot at the anterior end of each shrimp.

BRINE SHRIMP GENOMICS

Brine shrimp (Artemia) are tiny crustaceans that can thrive in aquatic environments that are too salty to support other animal life.  For example, Artemia are the only animals to complete their life cycle in Utah's Great Salt Lake.  Of note, Artemia produces encysted embryos that are remarkably tolerant of UV exposure, years of anoxia, extreme temperatures, severe desiccation, and repeated cycles of hydration and dehydration.

Artemia and other organisms that live in extreme environments possess proteins and other biomolecules that allow them to inhabit their unique biological niches. Biomolecules isolated from "extremophiles" have proven some of the most important molecular tools (e.g., Taq polymerase). The Artemia genome possesses a potential wealth of information on adaptation to extremes, hypersalinity being but one example.

Because the genome of Artemia is relatively large for a crustacean (average estimate of ~1.6 Gbp) and contains considerable repetitive DNA, Dr. Brian Avery (Westminster College, UT) has worked with MGEL to isolate the gene space of Artemia via Cot filtration.  In fall 2007, Dr. Avery traveled to MGEL where he worked with the MGEL staff to fractionate the Artemia fransciscana genome.  Dr. Avery has done some initial sequencing of the Cot-filtered DNA and observed considerable enrichment for gene sequences.  MGEL's Daniel Peterson is working with Dr. Avery to expand sequencing research on Artemia.