Heart development in Littorina obtusata

The timing of heart development in embryos of the flat periwinkle (Littorina obtusata) is crucial for their ability to survive low oxygen levels (hypoxia). During their early development, these snails have two hearts: the larval heart (positioned in the centre of the animal), which beats for just two weeks and then disappears; and the adult heart (positioned at the right hand edge of the shell), which forms just as the larval heart beat starts to decrease. Marine biologists at the University of Plymouth have shown that those animals surviving hypoxia developed their adult heart around eight days earlier than those that died, emphasising just how important it is for them to get their developmental timing right in stressful environments.

The abstract of the original research paper can be accessed at http://jeb.biologists.org/content/219...

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