It would also serve to expand the next generation of cephalopod researchers. Consequently, a central element of a Cephalopod RCN would be short-term laboratory exchanges for undergraduate and graduate students to aid in genome annotation and analysis, to promote education in bioinformatics and cephalopod biology and to foster new collaborations across the cephalopod community. selleckchem Cephalopods are important to science, including the fields of cellular neurobiology, learning and memory, neuroethology, biomaterial engineering, animal-microbe interactions, developmental biology, and fundamental molecular biology such as RNA editing. Access to genomic information will greatly facilitate this ongoing research, particularly through gene discovery.

Cephalopod genomics will also drive the creation of new areas of investigation, including such biomedically important topics as regeneration and aging [83,84]. Other examples of promising post-genomic cephalopod research include study of the unknown chemosensory systems by which cephalopods monitor their marine environments, and the isolation of cephalopod neurotoxins, which could lead to novel reagents for research and drug-based therapies [12]. Cephalopod genomics will also be important for evolutionary biology, particularly for understanding the great diversity and genomic complexity of the whole molluscan phylum and for probing the emergence of the evolutionary innovations that are represented by cephalopod eyes, large brains and prehensile arms. Cephalopods are a critical component of marine ecology, are important commercially to the fisheries industry and are an emerging aquaculture taxon.

The effects of global warming and marine acidification and hypoxification on cephalopod health and viability are unknown and can only be fully assessed with improved species delineation and a deeper understanding of population dynamics. Specifically, cephalopod genomics will aid our ability to track population migrations and monitor demographic expansions and contractions. This information will in turn directly inform efforts to assess the effects of climate change on cephalopod stocks [85]. Cephalopods are a critical food source and genomic resources can also be expected to help monitor cephalopod overfishing and improve cephalopod aquaculture. People are fascinated by cephalopods, from Nautilus to the octopus to the giant squid. The coupling of genomics to cephalopod biology represents a fusion of two areas of great interest and excitement for the public. This fusion presents a tremendous Anacetrapib educational platform, particularly for K-12 students, who can be engaged in the classroom and through the public media.