Wnt and TGFβ coordinate growth and patterning to regulate size-dependent behaviour.

ABSTRACT: Differential coordination of growth and patterning across metazoans gives rise to a diversity of sizes and shapes at tissue, organ and organismal levels. Although tissue size and tissue function can be interdependent^1-5, mechanisms that coordinate size and function remain poorly understood. Planarians are regenerative flatworms that bidirectionally scale their adult body size^6,7 and reproduce asexually, via transverse fission, in a size-dependent manner^8-10. This model offers a robust context to address the gap in knowledge that underlies the link between size and function. Here, by generating an optimized planarian fission protocol in Schmidtea mediterranea, we show that progeny number and the frequency of fission initiation are correlated with parent size

SUBMITTER: Arnold CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6872711 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature