Ocean Acidification

Simple Summary

Echinoderms, including sea urchins, sea cucumbers, starfish, brittle stars, and crinoids, produce mineralized skeletons that vary greatly in form among different groups and developmental stages. Understanding how these skeletons form is important for revealing the biological mechanisms underlying skeletal development and diversity. This review summarizes the development and major research themes of echinoderm biomineralization studies and examines the genes involved in skeletal formation across different echinoderm groups. We show that many genes controlling skeletal development are broadly shared among echinoderms, whereas some genes directly involved in mineral formation vary considerably among groups. By integrating previous biological studies with literature-based and genomic comparisons, this review provides a broader understanding of the molecular basis of echinoderm biomineralization and highlights important questions for future research beyond the extensively studied sea urchins.

Abstract

Biomineralization is a defining feature of echinoderms and underlies the formation of their calcitic endoskeletons. Considerable progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis of echinoderm biomineralization, particularly in sea urchins. However, studies of other echinoderm classes remain limited, and a comprehensive comparison of biomineralization genes and gene regulatory networks across the phylum is still lacking. Here, we combine bibliometric analysis with comparative genomic evidence to summarize current advances in echinoderm biomineralization research. Bibliometric analyses reveal the development of the field, major research themes, and emerging directions, whereas comparative genomic analyses provide an overview of biomineralization genes and gene regulatory networks across different echinoderm classes. Comparative evidence indicates that many transcription factors associated with skeletogenesis are widely distributed across echinoderms. In contrast, biomineralization genes exhibit substantial variation among echinoderm classes. These similarities and differences suggest that broadly shared developmental regulators have been integrated with lineage-specific biomineralization genes to generate the diversity of echinoderm skeletal structures. This review provides a comprehensive overview of biomineralization genes and gene regulatory networks in echinoderms and establishes a comparative framework for future studies of skeletal development, gene regulation, and the evolution of biomineralization across the phylum.

Guo X., Cong X., Yu Z. & Yuan X., 2026. Exploring biomineralization in echinoderms: a review of gene regulatory networks through bibliometrics and comparative genomics. Biology 15(20): 1796. doi: 10.3390/biology15201796. Article.