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First published online February 9, 2007

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Nervous about regeneration

Cut a planarian in half and it forms two new flatworms, a remarkable feat of regeneration. But what controls pattern formation in the newly formed tissues? According to Cebrià and Newmark, during anterior regeneration in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, the answer may involve the nervous system (see p. 833). The proper rewiring of the nervous system is a crucial event in regeneration, so the researchers began their study by identifying a planarian ortholog of the axonguidance receptor roundabout (Smed-roboA). Unexpectedly, RNAi knockdown of Smed-roboA led to the development of an extra pharynx (the worm's feeding organ) and to ectopic head structures during anterior regeneration. The researchers report that the regenerating brain in these animals did not reestablish proper connections with the ventral nerve cords and that this defect preceded the development of ectopic structures. They therefore propose that, as in annelids and amphibians, the nervous system may be an important source of the signals needed for proper morphogenesis during planarian regeneration.

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Related articles in Development:

Morphogenesis defects are associated with abnormal nervous system regeneration following roboA RNAi in planarians

Francesc Cebrià and Phillip A. Newmark
Development 2007 134: 833-837. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?