Imaging and Control of Cephalopod Systems

Our research is at the intersection of cephalopods and cutting-edge technologies in the sequencing, imaging, editing, and control of biological systems. Cephalopods have engineered through evolution some of the most sophisticated and alien-like systems in animals - new technologies in biology are rapidly transforming and democratizing functional studies in novel organisms. Our aim is to characterize and leverage cephalopod systems to create transformative new areas research, with the potential for powerful new tools and systems in synthetic biology, soft robotics, and beyond.

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Culturing

Our lab and others are actively working to develop transgenic lines of cephalopods. Critically, breeding colonies are required. For pygmy octopus, collaborators have f1 juveniles they will soon mate to potentially complete lifecycle culturing and establish breeding colonies. In parallel, we are developing a scalable culturing system that can be used in labs outside marine stations. For pygmy squid, small-egg cephalopods have planktonic hatchlings that have been difficult to culture but a focused effort has not been made. To complete the lifecycle in lab, we are developing a scalable larval culturing system that works outside marine stations and has �pico� tanks (100 mLs) and wireless video monitoring to enable replicate testing and automated analysis for optimization. Importantly, the MBL may become the Jackson Labs of cephalopods, as it aims to develop and provide cephalopod lines to the research community, including pygmy cephalopods, and we are partnered with them.

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Sequencing

Sequenced genomes provide an essential platform for research using genetic models, and our lab is part of the pygmy squid and pygmy octopus genome projects, where we are now working on chromosome-scale genome assemblies. As part of the post-assembly comparative analysis, we will identify orthologs to all human genes, highlighting those associated with disease or that are drug targets, with the potential for development of new biomedical research models when features of cephalopod biology can be uniquely leveraged.

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Imaging

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Tools

We are developing genetic tools to enable mechanistic studies in pygmy cephalopods, similar to standard methods in zebrafish and mice. We helped establish the first injection method for mRNAs and CRISPR-Cas9 in cephalopods, and we are now adapting it to the pygmy species. Our initial efforts are focused on light-based tools (reporters, biosensors, functional controls) and on mutants important for live imaging (CRISPR-Cas9 pigmentation knockouts, fluorescent protein knock-ins) to enable powerful approaches in development and behavior

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Development

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Color

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Brains

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!

Behavior

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Edsinger Lab is based out of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA United States. We are part of the Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, where Eric is a Research Scientist.

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We updated often on Instagram, Facebook, and Vimeo !!