title: Hydra, a niche for cell and developmental plasticity.
abstract: The silencing of genes whose expression is restricted to specific cell types and/or specific regeneration stages opens avenues to decipher the molecular control of the cellular plasticity underlying head regeneration in hydra. In this review, we highlight recent studies that identified genes involved in the immediate cytoprotective function played by gland cells after amputation; the early dedifferentiation of digestive cells into blastema-like cells during head regeneration, and the early late proliferation of neuronal progenitors required for head patterning. Hence, developmental plasticity in hydra relies on spatially restricted and timely orchestrated cellular modifications, where the functions played by stem cells remain to be characterized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30 Quai Ernest Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland. brigitte.galliot@zoo.unige.ch
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Galliot
authors.forename: Marijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miljkovic-Licina
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Rosa
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy / Q000502:physiology; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology; D006829:Hydra / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D013534:Survival / Q000502:physiology