2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Research of molecular logic for planarian regeneration
| Project Area | Molecular mechanisms underlying reconstruction of 3D structers during regeneration |
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| Project/Area Number |
22124004
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Review Section |
Biological Sciences
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| Research Institution | University of Hyogo (2014)
The University of Tokushima (2013)
The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (2010-2012) |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TARUI Hiroshi 理化学研究所発生再生科学総合研究センター, ゲノム資源解析ユニット, ユニットリーダー (90342815)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
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| Keywords | 再生原理 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Planarian regeneration serves as a platform to study how animals can precisely restore their missing body parts after injury. The planarian Dugesia japonica can regenerate a complete individual even from a tiny tail fragment via activation of somatic pluripotent stem cells called neoblasts. We found that interplay between anterior extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) signaling and posterior b-catenin signaling can account for the reconstruction of a complete head-to-tail axis after amputation. Furthermore, our data suggest that the balance between anterior ERK signaling and posterior b-catenin signaling may vary among planarian species, resulting in the drastic differences of the head-regenerative ability of their tail fragments. We demonstrated that RNA interference of the b-catenin gene enabled de novo regeneration of a functional head from head non-regenerative tail fragments of the planarian Phagocata kawakatsui.
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| Free Research Field |
発生生物学
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