Jellyfish: What we have known, and what should be revealed about them

Abstract

Jellyfish belongs to phylum Cnidaria. Cnidarians are diploblastic animals, have radial symmetry, and are the first metazoan group which have a nervous system. They are a representative venomous invertebrate animal group. Their venom is stored in various types of nematocytes all over the body, mainly in tentacle. Jellyfishes have unique characteristics along the evolution among cnidarians. They metamorphose during the developmental process which is still remain to be unraveled. Their venom consists of 30-40 proteins, and each of the protein can be developed as novel biomaterials for various purposes. Thus, jellyfishes are very attractive animals both in the studies of basic and applied sciences. The characteristics of jellyfish genome, recent trials for understanding jellyfish metamorphosis, and current approaches in novel biomaterial development using jellyfish toxin proteins will be discussed intensively in the lecture.