We have larvae!
This morning Dr. Boyle’s crabs hatched! Over the course of today, Dr. Boyle will be collecting the crab larvae and handing them off to Dr. O’Connell to prepare for RNA isolation. Over the next few weeks Kamwren Jackson and Dr. O’Connell will work to optimize an RNA isolation protocol in order to complete Kamwren’s thesis project!
We are all SUPER excited (and maybe a little nervous)!!
Stay tuned for the exciting “gender reveal” event! Maybe we’ll live stream it!
Getting this to happen in captivity is not easy, and getting it to happen in low salinity water is near impossible (these are crabs that have migrated upstream from the coast, after all). Dr. Boyle is sort of a “crab whisperer” who can make the magic happen!