Single-cell analysis reveals functionally distinct classes within the planarian stem cell compartment.

ABSTRACT: Planarians are flatworms capable of regenerating any missing body region. This capacity is mediated by neoblasts, a proliferative cell population that contains pluripotent stem cells. Although population-based studies have revealed many neoblast characteristics, whether functionally distinct classes exist within this population is unclear. Here, we used high-dimensional single-cell transcriptional profiling from over a thousand individual neoblasts to directly compare gene expression fingerprints during homeostasis and regeneration. We identified two prominent neoblast classes that we named ζ (zeta) and σ (sigma). Zeta-neoblasts encompass specified cells that give rise to an abundant postmitotic lineage, including epidermal cells, and are not required for regeneration. By contrast, sigma-n

SUBMITTER: van Wolfswinkel JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4171737 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature