CDM Laboratory Raising Urchins for Genetic Research

Down the hill from where Dahlia Avenue and Ocean Boulevard meet in Corona del Mar there is a Spanish Colonial building at the water's edge, and what it houses is quite interesting.

The whitewashed structure with an orange tiled roof was built in 1926 to house the Balboa Palisades Club, but today it's known as the Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory and is owned by the California Institute of Technology.

"Some people use fruit flies or mice for scientific research," said Pat Leahy, the laboratory's director. "We raise California purple sea urchins and ship them around the world."

Why California Purple Sea Urchins? 

To date, Leahy and Caltech laboratory assistant Julie Gilbert have raised 11 generations of California purple sea urchins, some of the oldest of which date back to 1985, through a series of controlled steps. First, they place urchin sperm and eggs into a vat of purified sea water, where the sperm unites with the eggs and forms embryos. Then they turn into larvae and feed on golden brown algae and diatoms for about a month. The lavender youngsters are placed on algae-covered rocks and are fed sea lettuce, and when they reach about an inch across, they will eat kelp.

Inside the KML is an elaborate saltwater system that keeps the sea urchins alive and well. An open system pumps sea water in and out of the building, while sand filters and a filter remove anything coming in from Newport Harbor that is larger than 0.45 microns. The water is kept at 12 degrees Centigrade (54 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Sea urchins and humans share thousands of the same genes," Leahy said. "Scientists use the genetic material from sea urchins to find out what might cause a disease in a child, or what effect carcinogens in the water have on marine organisms. They're used in drug research and the study of aging, too."

Requests for the sea urchins come from all over. Recently, Leahy packed some of the sea urchins and shipped them to George Washington University in Washington, DC. The process consisted of gathering up several specimens and placing them in a plastic-foam box layered with wet newspapers. The box is then taped up, addressed and typically can reach its destination within one day.

"The service we provide," Leahy said, "is beneficial to so many laboratories and scientists around the world."