The planaria Schmidtea mediterranea as a model system for the study of stem cell biology
Mariam Kipshidze, Jaba Tkemaladze
Abstract
Planarians, a type of flatworm, possess the remarkable ability of complete bodily regeneration, enabling them to redevelop any absent anatomical component following injury or surgical removal. The remarkable regenerative potential exhibited by planarians is underpinned by the existence of a substantial population of somatic pluripotent stem cells in the adult organism. Termed neoblasts, these cells provide a distinctive model system for investigating the in vivo process of differentiation. Over the past few years, the utilization of FACS-based neoblast isolation, RNAi-based functional analyses, and high-throughput techniques like single-cell sequencing have facilitated substantial advancements in our comprehension of various facets of neoblast biology. Consequently, planarians represent an exceptional animal model for investigating the intricacies of stem cell biology and biochemistry.