The gastropod Lottia peitaihoensis as a model to study the body patterning of trochophore larvae

The body patterning of trochophore larvae is important for understanding spiralian evolution and the origin of the bilateral body plan. However, considerable variations are observed among spiralian lineages, which have adopted varied strategies to develop trochophore larvae or even omit a trochophore stage. Some spiralians, such as patellogastropod mollusks, are suggested to exhibit ancestral traits by producing equal-cleaving fertilized eggs and possessing “typical” trochophore larvae. In recent years, we developed a potential model system using the patellogastropod Lottia peitaihoensis (= Lottia goshimai). Here, we introduce how the species were selected and establish sources and techniques, including gene knockdown, ectopic gene expression, and genome editing. Investigations on this species reveal essential aspects of trochophore body patterning, including organizer signaling, molecular and cellular processes connecting the various developmental functions of the organizer, the specification and behaviors of the endomesoderm and ectomesoderm, and the characteristic dorsoventral decoupling of Hox expression. These findings enrich the knowledge of trochophore body patterning and have important implications regarding the evolution of spiralians as well as bilateral body plans.