Aspects of Planarian Biology and Behavior

Jenkins, Marie M.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-6565-3_9

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Within the continental United States, G. dorotocephala populations are found broadly throughout Southwestern and Midwestern states (Fig. 1A′; Ball, 1971; Benazzi, 1974; Hampton, 1988; Hyman, 1925; Hyman, 1929; Hyman, 1939; Hyman, 1956; Jenkins, 1967; Kawakatsu and Mitchell, 1981; Kenk, 1944; Kenk, 1989; Muttkowski, 1918; Nixon, 1981; Puccinelli and Deri, 1991; Sluys et al, 2010; Stringer, 1909; Watermolen, 2005; Woodworth, 1897). Unlike planarian species commonly used in developmental and regenerative biology research, more specifically Schmidtea mediterranea (native to Spain) and Dugesia japonica (native to Japan), comprehensive genetic information that has been functionally validated is not available for G. dorotocephala .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Girardia dorotocephala transcriptome sequence, assembly, and validation through characterization of piwi homologs and stem cell progeny markers

Almazan

Lesko

Markey

et al. 2018

Developmental Biology

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Planarian flatworms are popular models for the study of regeneration and stem cell biology in vivo. Technical advances and increased availability of genetic information have fueled the discovery of molecules responsible for stem cell pluripotency and regeneration in flatworms. Unfortunately, most of the planarian research performed worldwide utilizes species that are not natural habitants of North America, which limits their availability to newcomer laboratories and impedes their distribution for educational activities. In order to circumvent these limitations and increase the genetic information available for comparative studies, we sequenced the transcriptome of Girardia dorotocephala, a planarian species pandemic and commercially available in North America. A total of 254,802,670 paired sequence reads were obtained from RNA extracted from intact individuals, regenerating fragments, as well as freshly excised auricles of a clonal line of G. dorotocephala (MA-C2), and used for de novo assembly of its transcriptome. The resulting transcriptome draft was validated through functional analysis of genetic markers of stem cells and their progeny in G. dorotocephala. Akin to orthologs in other planarian species, G. dorotocephala Piwi1 (GdPiwi1) was found to be a robust marker of the planarian stem cell population and GdPiwi2 an essential component for stem cell-driven regeneration. Identification of G. dorotocephala homologs of the early stem cell descendent marker PROG-1 revealed a family of lysine-rich proteins expressed during epithelial cell differentiation. Sequences from the MA-C2 transcriptome were found to be 98–99% identical to nucleotide sequences from G. dorotocephala populations with different chromosomal number, demonstrating strong conservation regardless of karyotype evolution. Altogether, this work establishes G. dorotocephala as a viable and accessible option for analysis of gene function in North America.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Girardia dorotocephala transcriptome sequence, assembly, and validation through characterization of piwi homologs and stem cell progeny markers

Almazan

Lesko

Markey

et al. 2018

Developmental Biology

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“…Asexual worms regenerate lost body parts after fission without developing reproductive organs24. They seasonally develop hermaphroditic reproductive organs, i.e., sexual induction25262728. Although a seasonal change is mimicked by lowering the temperature under laboratory conditions, sexual induction is only occasionally triggered.…”

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confidence: 99%

The identification of d-tryptophan as a bioactive substance for postembryonic ovarian development in the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis

Kobayashi

Maezawa

Tanaka

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Many metazoans start germ cell development during embryogenesis, while some metazoans possessing pluripotent stem cells undergo postembryonic germ cell development. The latter reproduce asexually but develop germ cells from pluripotent stem cells or dormant primordial germ cells when they reproduce sexually. Sexual induction of the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis is an important model for postembryonic germ cell development. In this experimental system, hermaphroditic reproductive organs are differentiated in presumptive gonadal regions by the administration of a crude extract from sexual planarians to asexual ones. However, the substances involved in the first event during postembryonic germ cell development, i.e., ovarian development, remain unknown. Here, we aimed to identify a bioactive compound associated with postembryonic ovarian development. Bioassay-guided fractionation identified ʟ-tryptophan (Trp) on the basis of electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry, circular dichroism, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Originally masked by a large amount of ʟ-Trp, ᴅ-Trp was detected by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The ovary-inducing activity of ᴅ-Trp was 500 times more potent than that of ʟ-Trp. This is the first report describing a role for an intrinsic ᴅ-amino acid in postembryonic germ cell development. Our findings provide a novel insight into the mechanisms of germ cell development regulated by low-molecular weight bioactive compounds.

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“…It is reported that some planarians, e.g. those of genus Dugesia, comprise at least three races with respect to the reproductive mode, namely asexual race, sexual race, and physiological race [5]. In the asexual race, worms reproduce by fission without sexual organs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cloning and characterization of DjPRPS gene in freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica

et al. 2015

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Objective: To clone the phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase gene from Dugesia japonica, and to do the bioinformatics and spatial expression analysis of the gene. Methods:The phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase gene (DjPRPS) was cloned from Dugesia japonica using the rapid amplification of cDNA ends method and its sequence was analyzed with biological softwares. Spatial expression pattern of the gene was detected by whole-mount in situ hybridization. Results:The full length cDNA of DjPRPS was 1,086 bp, containing a 80 bp of 5'-untranslated region, a 55 bp of 3'-untranslated region and a 951 bp of open reading frame encoding a protein of 316 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 35.18 kDa and isoelectric point of 8.14. The deduced amino acid sequence shared the conserved eukaryotic PRPS family motif. Phylogenetic analysis supported the traditional concept of zoological taxonomy in large scale. Intense positive signals were detected as bilateral lines of patches in the ventral side where the ovaries and yolk glands located in the intact sexual planarians. In the regenerating planarians, the expression pattern was similar to that of the intact samples, and no intense transcipt signals were detected in the blastema. Conclusion: DjPRPS sequence was highly homologous with that of other eukaryotic phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase gene. Intense transcript signals of DjPRPS were not detected in the blastema but in ovaries and yolk glands, suggesting that its function was probably reproduction-related and maybe not involved in regeneration. Key Words: Dugesia japonica, DjPRPS, cloning, whole-mount in situ hybridization Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest. ÖZETAmaç: Dugesia japonica'dan fosforibozil pirofosfat sentetaz geninin klonlanması ve genin mekansal ekspresyon analizi ile bioinformatik çalışmaların yapılmasıdır. Metod: Fosforibozil pirofosfat sentetaz (DjPRPS) geni Dugesia japonica'dan cDNA ucunun hızlı amplifikasyon metodu kullanılarak klonlandı ve dizilim biyolojik yazılımlar ile analiz edildi. Genin mekansal ekspresyon motifi whole-mount in situ hibridizasyon ile saptandı. Bulgular: DjPRPS geninin tüm cDNA uzunluğu 1,086 bp'dir. Bu yapı, 80 bp 5'-çevrilmemiş bölge, 55 bp 3'-çevrilmemiş bölge ve 951 bp'lik izoelektrik noktası 8.14 ve hesaplanan moleküler kütlesi 35.18 kDa olan 316 amino asitden oluşan proteini kodlayan açık okuma ucu içe-rir. Ortaya çıkarılan amino asit dizilimi korunmuş ökaryotik PRPS ailesi motifini paylaşmıştır. Filogenetik analizler büyük oranda geleneksel zoolojik taksonomi kavramlarını desteklemiştir. Bozulmamış seksüel planaryalarda yerleşmiş yumurtalık ve yolk keselerinde ventral bölgede yoğunlaştırılmış pozitif sinyaller bilateral yama tarzında çizgiler olarak tespit edildi. Rejenere olan planaryalarda da ifade edilme kalıbı benzerdi ve embriyonik hücre gruplarında yoğun transkripsiyon sinyalleri tespit edilmedi. Sonuç: DjPRPS gen dizilimi diğer ökaryotik fosforibozil pirofosfat sentetaz geni ile yüksek oranda homoloji göstermekte...

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Aspects of Planarian Biology and Behavior

Cited by 17 publications

References 45 publications

Girardia dorotocephala transcriptome sequence, assembly, and validation through characterization of piwi homologs and stem cell progeny markers

Girardia dorotocephala transcriptome sequence, assembly, and validation through characterization of piwi homologs and stem cell progeny markers

The identification of d-tryptophan as a bioactive substance for postembryonic ovarian development in the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis

Cloning and characterization of DjPRPS gene in freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica

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