Because of their simple organization the Acoela have been considered to be either primitive bilaterians or descendants of coelomates through secondary loss of derived features. Sequence data of 18 S ribosomal DNA genes from non–fast evolving species of acoels and other metazoans reveal that this group does not belong to the Platyhelminthes but represents the extant members of the earliest divergent Bilateria, an interpretation that is supported by recent studies on the embryonic cleavage pattern and nervous system of acoels. This study has implications for understanding the evolution of major body plans, and for perceptions of the Cambrian evolutionary explosion.

The complete 18S rDNA gene sequence of Macrobiotus group hufelandi (Tardigrada) was obtained and aligned with 18S rDNA and rRNA gene sequences of 24 metazoans (mainly protostomes). Discrete character (maximum-parsimony) and distance (neighbor-joining) methods were used to infer their phylogeny. The evolution of bootstrap proportions with sequence length (pattern of resolved nodes, PRN) was studied to test the resolution of the nodes in neighbor-joining trees. The results show that arthropods are monophyletic. Tardigrades represent the sister group of arthropods (in parsimony analyses) or they are related with crustaceans (distance analysis and PRN). Arthropoda are divided into two main evolutionary lines, the Hexapoda + Crustacea line (weakly supported), and the Myriapoda + Chelicerata line. The Hexapoda + Crustacea line includes Pentastomida, but the internal resolution is far from clear. The Insecta (Ectognatha) are monophyletic, but no evidence for the monophyly of Hexapoda is found. The Chelicerata are a monophyletic group and the Myriapoda cluster close to Arachnida. Overall, the results obtained represent the first molecular evidence for a Tardigrada + Arthropoda clade. In addition, the congruence between molecular phylogenies of the Arthropoda from other authors and this obtained here indicates the need to review those obtained solely on morphological characters.

Regeneration following tissue damage often necessitates a mechanism for cellular reprogramming , so that surviving cells can give rise to all cell types originally found in the damaged tissue. This process, if unchecked, can also generate cell types that are inappropriate for a given location. We conducted a screen for genes that negatively regulate the frequency of notum-towing transformations following genetic ablation and regeneration of the wing pouch, from which we identified mutations in the transcriptional co-repressor C-terminal Binding Protein (CtBP). When CtBP function is reduced, ablation of the pouch can activate the JNK/AP-1 and JAK/STAT pathways in the notum to destabilize cell fates. Ectopic expression of Wingless and Dilp8 precede the formation of the ectopic pouch, which is subsequently generated by recruitment of both anterior and posterior cells near the compartment boundary. Thus, CtBP stabilizes cell fates following damage by opposing the destabilizing effects of the JNK/AP-1 and JAK/STAT pathways.

Stem cells (neoblasts) in Platyhelminthes are pluripotent, and likely totipotent, undifferentiated cells which retain throughout adult life the capacity to proliferate and from which all somatic cells as well as the germ cells derive. However, basic data on the pool and heterogeneity of neoblasts, their rates of differentiation into sets and subsets of differentiated cells, and their migration to different body regions are still lacking. To fill this gap, S-phase cells in the macrostomid Macrostomum sp. were labeled with the thymidine analog 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU). S-phase cells were found to be neoblasts and to be distributed in two bands along the lateral sides of the body leaving unlabeled the median axis of the body and the region anterior to the eyes. This distribution is parallel to that of mitotic cells demonstrated using an antibody to phosphorylated histone H3. At different chase times, clusters of BrdU-labeled cells appear, labeled cells migrate to formerly unlabeled areas, and they differentiate into several somatic cell types and into germ cells. Finally, continuous exposure to BrdU shows an extensive renewal of the epithelial cells. Altogether, these results strengthen the idea of platyhelminth neoblasts as an unparalleled stem-cell system within the Animal Kingdom calling for further investigation.

No abstract

In most zoological textbooks, Platyhelminthes are depicted as an early-emerging clade forming the likely sister group of all the other Bilateria. Other phylogenetic proposals see them either as the sister group of most of the Protostomia or as a group derived from protostome coelomate ancestors by progenesis. The main difficulty in their correct phylogenetic placing is the lack of convincing synapomorphies for all Platyhelminthes, which may indicate that they are polyphyletic. Moreover, their internal phylogenetic relationships are still uncertain. To test these hypotheses, new complete 18S rDNA sequences from 13 species of "Turbellaria" have been obtained and compared to published sequences of 2 other "Turbellaria," 3 species of parasitic Platyhelminthes, and several diploblastic and deuterostome and protostome triploblastics. Maximum-parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and neighbor-joining methods were used to infer their phylogeny. The results show the order Catenulida to form an independent early-branching clade and emerge as a potential sister group of the rest of the Bilateria, while the rest of Platyhelminthes (Rhabditophora), which includes the parasites, form a clear monophyletic group closely related to the protostomes. The order Acoela, morphologically considered as candidates to be ancestral, are shown to be fast-clock organisms for the 18S rDNA gene. Hence, long-branching of acoels and insufficient sampling of catenulids and acoels leave their position still unresolved and call for further studies. Within the Rhabditophora, our analyses suggest (1) a close relationship between orders Macrostomida and Polycladida, forming a clear sister group to the rest of orders; (2) that parasitic platyhelminthes appeared early in the evolution of the group and form a sister group to a still-unresolved clade made by Nemertodermatida, Lecithoepitheliata, Prolecithophora, Proseriata, Tricladida, and Rhabdocoela; and (3) that Seriata is paraphyletic.

Recent hypotheses on metazoan phylogeny have recognized three main clades of bilaterian animals: Deuterostomia, Ecdysozoa and Lophotrochozoa. The acoelomate and ‘pseudocoelomate’ metazoans, including the Platyhelminthes, long considered basal bilaterians, have been referred to positions within these clades by many authors. However, a recent study based on ribosomal DNA placed the flatworm group Acoela as the sister group of all other extant bilaterian lineages. Unexpectedly, the nemertodermatid flatworms, usually considered the sister group of the Acoela together forming the Acoelomorpha, were grouped separately from the Acoela with the rest of the Platyhelminthes (the Rhabditophora) within the Lophotrochozoa. To re‐evaluate and clarify the phylogenetic position of the Nemertodermatida, new sequence data from 18S ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial genes of nemertodermatid and other bilaterian species were analysed with parsimony and maximum likelihood methods. The analyses strongly support a basal position within the Bilateria for the Nemertodermatida as a sister group to all other bilaterian taxa except the Acoela. Despite the basal position of both Nemertodermatida and Acoela, the clade Acoelomorpha was not retrieved. These results imply that the last common ancestor of bilaterian metazoans was a small, benthic, direct developer without segments, coelomic cavities, nephrida or a true brain. The name Nephrozoa is proposed for the ancestor of all bilaterians excluding the Nemertodermatida and the Acoela, and its descendants.

First described by Randolph in 1897, the nature and main features of planarian neoblasts have a long rambling history. While their morphologically undifferentiated features have long been recognized, their origin and actual role during regeneration have been highly debated. Here I summarize the main stages of this rambling history: 1) undifferentiated, wandering cells of uncertain origin with a main, albeit undefined, role in regeneration (1890-1940s); 2) quiescent, undifferentiated cells whose main function is to build the blastema during regeneration, an idea which culminated in the 'neoblast theory' of the French School (1940-1960); 3) neoblasts as temporal, undifferentiated cells arising by dedifferentiation from differentiated cells (the 'cell dedifferentiation theory'; 1960-1980s); 4) a new paradigm, starting in the late 1970s-early 1980s, that brought together the role of neoblasts as the main cell for regeneration, with its more important role as somatic stem cells for the daily wear and tear of tissues and as the source of germ cells; and 5) more recent developments that culminate in the report of rescuing lethally irradiated planarians by injection of single neoblasts, which makes of neoblasts an unrivaled toti-, pluripotent somatic stem cell system in the Animal Kingdom. I finally discuss some "black boxes" regarding neoblasts which still baffle us, namely their phylogenetic and ontogenetic origins, their role in body size control, how their pool is regulated during growth and degrowth, the logic of their proliferative control, and some 'old' long-sought missing tools. KEY WORDS: planarian, neoblast, totipotency, dedifferentiation, stem cell A general overview of cell potency during developmentThe developmental potential of cells within embryos, and by extension in adult organisms has been one of the biggest riddles in Developmental Biology. A large amount of observations and experiments soon made clear that egg cells and early blastomeres in most phyla are totipotent cells (cells able to give rise to all cell types including germ cells). It also became evident that as development goes on, such potentialities, however ample, become restricted. After the morula stage in mammals, cells of the inner cell mass and from the outer trophoblasts are no longer totipotent but pluripotent (able to give rise to cell types of all three germ layers or to the placenta, respectively). Later, embryonic germ layers segregate. Embryonic outer cells (ectoderm), give rise to several epidermal derivatives together with central nervous system and neural crest cell types but not to any embryonic inner cells, or endoderm derivatives, and vice versa. Such cells are considered multipotent (able to give rise to several cell types). The final stage, the adult Int. J. Dev. Biol. 56: [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] doi: 10.1387/ijdb.113463jb organism, is formed of thousands, millions, billions, or trillions of cells of different types (over 200-300 in complex vertebrates) patter...