Regenerative Adaptation to Electrochemical Perturbation in Planaria: A Molecular Analysis of Physiological Plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Anatomical homeostasis results from dynamic interactions between gene expression, physiology, and the external environment. Owing to its complexity, this cellular and organism-level phenotypic plasticity is still poorly understood. We establish planarian regeneration as a model for acquired tolerance to environments that alter endogenous physiology. Exposure to barium chloride (BaCl₂) results in a rapid degeneration of anterior tissue in Dugesia japonica. Remarkably, continued exposure to fresh solution of BaCl₂ results in regeneration of heads that are insensitive to BaCl₂. RNA-seq revealed transcriptional changes in BaCl₂-adapted heads that suggests a model of adaptation to excitotoxicity. Loss-of-function experiments confirmed several predicti

SUBMITTER: Emmons-Bell M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6881696 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature