Washington, Nov 12: Sea urchins may be blind, but they have the same genes that help people see, as well as genes for a sense of smell and one of the most complicated immune systems in the animal world, researchers reported on Thursday.
They also have genes associated with diseases such as Huntington's and muscular dystrophy, offering new routes to understanding illnesses, the researchers write in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The sea urchin -- a pincushion-shaped animal found at the bottom of the sea and perhaps best known for its long, sharp spines -- shares more than 7,000 genes with humans, the international team of researchers found.
It was long known to be more closely related to humans and other vertebrates than other creatures favored by biologists for research, such as fruit flies and C. elegans roundworms.
Comparing human genes to their counterparts in other species can help scientists figure out why they evolved, and find ways to help when things go wrong.
The series of studies published in Science confirm this relationship and also make some surprising findings, such as genes for sight found at the bottom of their feet.
"I've been looking at these organisms for 31 years and now I know they were looking back at me," said Gary Wessel, a biology professor at Brown University in Rhode Island who worked on one study.
"We've already learned an enormous amount from the sea urchin, from something as basic as how identical twins form to in vitro fertilization procedures," Wessel added in a statement.
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