We use planarian flatworms to understand the mechanisms of regeneration. Unlike more established model organisms, planarians rapidly regenerate all of their organs by activating an abundant population of pluripotent stem cells. Just as in mammals, injury stimulates unique cellular behaviors that lead to the restoration of functional organs. However, many questions remain as to how pluripotent stem cells are triggered to proliferate, how they “know” which tissues need to be replaced, and how they coordinate their activity to produce functional tissues. Our goal is to understand how this process works.
Our focus is on regeneration of one organ, the pharynx. The pharynx is the mouth of planarians. In the video below, the pharynx is the large, white tube that sucks up food into the animal’s body.
Our focus is on regeneration of one organ, the pharynx. The pharynx is the mouth of planarians. In the video below, the pharynx is the large, white tube that sucks up food into the animal’s body.
We discovered a method to selectively remove this organ by soaking animals in sodium azide. We call this amputation strategy "chemical amputation" to contrast it with the typical "surgical amputation" which begins with a razor blade.
After removing the pharynx, the stem cells in the rest of the body are activated to regenerate a new pharynx. Our goal is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for pharynx regeneration. We use functional genetics (RNA interference) and transcriptomics to identify genes involved in pharynx regeneration.
After removing the pharynx, the stem cells in the rest of the body are activated to regenerate a new pharynx. Our goal is to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for pharynx regeneration. We use functional genetics (RNA interference) and transcriptomics to identify genes involved in pharynx regeneration.
