Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Haikouichthys somewhat resembles the ammocoete larva of modern lampreys, this is because of shared general craniate characters; adult lampreys and hagfishes (the cyclostomes if monophyletic) are probably derived in many respects.
Several features of the Chengjiang fossil-Lagerstätte suggest that this group can throw light on an early stage of deuterostome diversification, and provide evidence for a new group of metazoans, the vetulicolians.
The advantages of using this mammalian expression system include the ease of generating TAT fusion proteins that are adequately transcripted and the potential for a sustained production of such proteins in vitro for future AML therapy.