Regeneration and the need for simpler model organisms

Update Item Information
Publication Type Journal Article
School or College School of Medicine
Department Neurobiology & Anatomy
Creator Sanchez Alvarado, Alejandro
Title Regeneration and the need for simpler model organisms
Date 2004-05-29
Description The problem of regeneration is fundamentally a problem of tissue homeostasis involving the replacement of cells lost to normal 18 wear and tear 19 (cell turnover), and/or injury. This attribute is of particular significance to organisms possessing relatively long lifespans, as maintenance of all body parts and their func- functional tional integration is essential for their survival. Because tissue replacement is broadly distributed among multicellular life-forms, and the molecules and mechanisms controlling cellular differentiation are considered ancient evolutionary inventions, it should be possible to gain key molecular insights about regenerative processes through the study of simpler animals. We have chosen to study and develop the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea as a model system because it is one of the simplest metazoans possessing tissue homeostasis and regeneration, and because it has become relatively easy to molecularly manipulate this organism. The developmental plasticity and longevity of S. mediterranea is in marked contrast to its better-characterized invertebrate cohorts: the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster and the roundworm Caeno- Caenorhabditis rhabditis elegans elegans, both of which have short lifespans and are poor at regenerating tissues. Therefore, plan- planarians arians present us with new, experimentally accessible contexts in which to study the molecular actions guiding cell fate restriction, differentiation and patterning, each of which is crucial not only for regeneration to occur, but also for the survival and perpetuation of all multicellular organisms
Type Text
Publisher The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 Y5AG, UK; +44 (0)20 7451 2500
Journal Title Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume 359
Issue 1445
First Page 759
Last Page 763
DOI 10.1098/rstb.2004.1465
citatation_issn 0962-8436
Subject Molecular Pathways
Subject LCSH Regeneration (Biology); Turbellaria; Evolution (Biology)
Subject MESH Planarians; Regeneration; Evolution
Language eng
Bibliographic Citation Sanchez A.A. (29 May 2004). Regeneration and the Need for Simpler Model Organisms. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences, 359(1445), 759-63. DOI 10.1098/rstb.2004.1465
Rights Management http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/
Format Medium application/pdf
Identifier ir-main,121
ARK ark:/87278/s6qz2vg2
Setname ir_uspace
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Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qz2vg2