ABSTRACT
Investigations of the last decade revealed that decapod crustaceans have a good potential for research on topical biological disciplines such as stem cell biology, biogerontology, cancer biology and epigenetics. In this chapter, the advances made in these fi elds focusing on crayfi sh will be reviewed. Particular emphasis is given to the parthenogenetic marbled crayfi sh, Procambarus fallax (Hagen, 1870) f. virginalis, as a new laboratory model. However, relevant information obtained from other decapods where appropriate will also be considered.
