Meeting Abstract
Regeneration is a well-documented ability that has high applications to modern medicine. Many marine model systems have been utilized to better understand the molecular processes that underlay this ability. Ptychodera flava exhibits exceptional abilities in regenerating entire parts of its central nervous system. We examined the expression of 7 developmental genes—transcription factor genes Pax6, Six3, Dlx, Msx-2, and POU and signaling genes Chordin and Frizzled—during different days of regeneration. Whole mount in situ hybridizations of P. flava from 2 to 7 days of regeneration were utilized to map the expression of genes and times at which they are expressed. In situ hybridization data revealed the expression of neural genes to follow a slightly varied anterior-posterior patterning as seen in developing chordates and direct developing hemichordates. Further studies are necessary to tell whether variation between expression in Saccoglossus kowalevskii and P. flava is due to variation in the mechanisms controlling gene networks during hemichordate development and regeneration.
