Functional genomic studies of regeneration in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea

Regenerative capabilities are seen in varying degrees throughout the phylogenetic tree. Are the genes and signaling pathways employed by regeneration found in all metazoans and recruited by mechanisms conserved in regenerative organisms, or have organisms developed ways to recruit them de novo? We brought the power of comparative genomics to bear on a portion of this broad question, and a cohort of genes was found that appeared to only be conserved in organisms capable of somatic tissue replacement as adults. Those genes were characterized in silico, then whole-mount in situ hybridizations were performed for each gene. Functional analysis using double-stranded RNA-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) was implemented to determine effects on regeneration. The hypothesis was that effectors of regeneration are only conserved in animals capable of somatic tissue regeneration as adults. No genes fitting that particular description were found in this study; however, there were complications with the investigation, and this work leaves the question unresolved.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Neuroscience

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Stary, Joel

Contributors dc:contributor

• Newmark, Phillip A.
• Robertson, Hugh M.
• Gillette, Rhanor
• Henry, Jonathan

• Regeneration
• Planarian
• Planarians
• Planaria
• Schmidtea mediterranea
• Functional genomics

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Joel Stary

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/42239

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/42239