Meeting Abstract

P3.92  Monday, Jan. 6 15:30  The Correlates of Regeneration Loss in the Naididae KEIL, D.*; BELY, A.; University of Maryland, College Park dkeil@umd.edu

The ability to regenerate lost body parts is present across the Metazoa, although it varies widely both between and within phyla. The inferred ancestor of animals is thought to be capable of regeneration, as we observe regeneration in basal lineages and many bilaterians, but there have been subsequent widespread loss or reduction of regenerative ability in many lineages, including distantly related groups such as ecdysozoans, mammals, and leeches. We are interested in determining whether certain morphological and physiological characters correlate with regeneration loss in a group of closely related annelids, the Naididae, in which a spectrum of regenerative ability exists. Identifying the correlates of regeneration loss provides a background for understanding why and how regeneration losses occur.