Effects of Light and Covering Behavior on PAX6 Expression in the Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius

We studied the diel expression pattern of PAX6 (a structural gene that is commonly involved in the eye development and photoreception of eye forming animals) and the effects of light and covering behavior on PAX6 expression in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. We confirmed that aphotic condition significantly reduced covering behavior in S. intermedius. The diel expression pattern of PAX6 was significantly different in S. intermedius under photic and aphotic conditions. The gene expression of PAX6 significantly deceased in covered S. intermedius both under natural light and in darkness. The present finding provides valuable insight into the probable link between covering and PAX6 expression of sea urchins. Further studies are required to investigate the detailed expression network of light detection involved genes in order to fully reveal the molecular mechanism of the light-induced covering behavior of sea urchins.