Abstract：
Placozoans are morphologically the simplest free-living animals. They represent a unique window of opportunities to understand both the origin of the animal organization and the rules of life for the system and synthetic biology of the future. However, despite more than 100 years of their investigations, we know little about their organization, natural habitats, and life strategies. Here, we introduce this unique animal phylum and highlight some directions vital to broadening the frontiers of the biomedical sciences. In particular, understanding the genomic bases of placozoan biodiversity, cell identity, connectivity, reproduction, and cellular bases of behavior are critical hot spots for future studies.
摘要：
胎盘动物在形态上是最简单的自由生活的动物。它们代表了一个独特的机会窗口，可以了解动物组织的起源以及未来系统和合成生物学的生活规则。然而,尽管他们进行了100多年的调查，我们对他们的组织知之甚少，自然栖息地,和生活策略。这里,我们介绍了这个独特的动物门，并强调了一些对扩大生物医学科学前沿至关重要的方向。特别是,了解胎盘生物多样性的基因组基础，细胞身份，连通性,繁殖，和细胞行为基础是未来研究的关键热点。
