Ingestion of bacterially expressed double-stranded RNA inhibits gene expression in planarians.

ABSTRACT: Freshwater planarian flatworms are capable of regenerating complete organisms from tiny fragments of their bodies; the basis for this regenerative prowess is an experimentally accessible stem cell population that is present in the adult planarian. The study of these organisms, classic experimental models for investigating metazoan regeneration, has been revitalized by the application of modern molecular biological approaches. The identification of thousands of unique planarian ESTs, coupled with large-scale whole-mount in situ hybridization screens, and the ability to inhibit planarian gene expression through double-stranded RNA-mediated genetic interference, provide a wealth of tools for studying the molecular mechanisms that regulate tissue regeneration and stem cell biology in these org

SUBMITTER: Newmark PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC304099 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature