Project description:The freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea is well known by its amazing regeneration capabilities thanks to the presence of adult stem cells, the neoblasts, the only proliferative cells and responsible for the differentiation in all the cell types of the organism. This study involves the creation of separated transcript libraries from both, isolated neoblasts and differentiated cells, as well as their posterior sequencing and quantification through Digital Gene Expression (DGE) for the characterization of the neoblast transcriptome. Three DGE libraries were produced from FACS isolated cell populations X1 (proliferating stem cells, S/G2/M), X2 (a mix of proliferating stem cells and stem cell progeny, G0/G1) and Xin (differentiated cells, G0/G1). Cells were isolated from a pool of 32 regenerating animals two days after being cut off pre- and post-pharingeally to trigger regeneration and neoblast proliferation.
Project description:Regeneration requires the coordination of stem cells, their progeny and distant differentiated tissues. Here, we present a comprehensive atlas of whole-body regeneration in Schmidtea mediterranea and identify wound-induced cell states. An analysis of 299,998 single-cell transcriptomes captured from regeneration-competent and regeneration-incompetent fragments identified transient regeneration-activated cell states (TRACS) in the muscle, epidermis and intestine. TRACS were independent of stem cell division with distinct spatiotemporal distributions, and RNAi depletion of TRACS-enriched genes produced regeneration defects. Muscle expression of notum, follistatin, evi/wls, glypican-1 and junctophilin-1 was required for tissue polarity. Epidermal expression of agat-1/2/3, cyp3142a1, zfhx3 and atp1a1 was important for stem cell proliferation. Finally, expression of spectrinβ and atp12a in intestinal basal cells, and lrrk2, cathepsinB, myosin1e, polybromo-1 and talin-1 in intestinal enterocytes regulated stem cell proliferation and tissue remodelling, respectively. Our results identify cell types and molecules that are important for regeneration, indicating that regenerative ability can emerge from coordinated transcriptional plasticity across all three germ layers.
Project description:Studies of tissue regeneration and host-pathogen interactions using the model planarian Schmidtea mediterranea have been performed at an experimental temperature of 19?°C. S. mediterranea planarians exposed to 19?°C-32?°C were observed for survival, mobility, feeding and regeneration for three months and elimination of the Staphylococcus aureus pathogen over six days. S. mediterranea planarians died at 30?°C-32?°C after 18 days of observation but tolerated temperatures of 19?°C up to 28?°C with non-significant differences in mobility and feeding behavior. Genetic malleability tested by RNAi feeding was still efficient at 26?°C and 28?°C. Concerning the immune capacity of planarians, we reported an exacerbation of the immune response in worms infected by S. aureus at 26?°C and 28?°C. These observations suggest a temperature modulation of planarian stem cells and illustrate the importance of modulating experimental temperature when using planarians as model organisms to study regeneration and immune response.