Alvinella pompejana project

The most thermotolerant animal...

Alvinella pompejana, the "Pompeii worm", is a Polychaete Annelid (see taxonomy) discovered in 1980. This tubiculous worm colonizes hydrothermal vents where it is faced with extreme and variable physico-chemical conditions including very high temperatures (from 20 to over 80°C), anoxic conditions, low ph, high concentration of heavy metals and sulphids... This environment makes A. pompejana an ideal model for studies aimed at deciphering adaptation in general as well as a unique source of thermostable proteins of eukaryotic origin.

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Full length cDNA sequencing project

Full length cDNA libraries will be constructed and sequenced at the Genoscope (CNS). Whole animals and dissected tissues have been specially collected for this project during the oceanographic Biospeedo cruise on the Pacific Ridge in 2004. The availability of a massive set of full length cDNAs will fill a major gap in the sequence representation of invertebrates and will benefit comparative genomics and molecular evolutionary studies, in particular to understand the evolution of body plans and developmental processes. The thermotolerance of A. pompejana will also offer major opportunities in postgenomic studies, especially in the determination of the 3D structure of proteins and biotechnological applications.