A comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals conserved features of stem cell pluripotency in planarians and mammals.

ABSTRACT: Many long-lived species of animals require the function of adult stem cells throughout their lives. However, the transcriptomes of stem cells in invertebrates and vertebrates have not been compared, and consequently, ancestral regulatory circuits that control stem cell populations remain poorly defined. In this study, we have used data from high-throughput RNA sequencing to compare the transcriptomes of pluripotent adult stem cells from planarians with the transcriptomes of human and mouse pluripotent embryonic stem cells. From a stringently defined set of 4,432 orthologs shared between planarians, mice and humans, we identified 123 conserved genes that are ≥5-fold differentially expressed in stem cells from all three species. Guided by this gene set, we used RNAi screening in adult planar

SUBMITTER: Labbe RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4161212 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature