title: Histone modifications and regeneration in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea.
abstract: The freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea has emerged as a powerful model system for studying regeneration and adult stem cell (ASC) biology. This is largely due to the developmental plasticity of these organisms and the abundant distribution and experimental accessibility of their ASCs. Techniques such as whole mount in situ hybridization, dsRNA-mediated interference, halogenated thymidine analogs for defining cell lineages, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting among other methods, have allowed researchers to interrogate the biology and attendant pluripotent stem cells of these animals in great detail. Therefore, it has now become possible to interrogate and define the roles that epigenetic states may play in regulating ASCs, and by extension, regeneration proper. Here, we provide a primer on the types and number of histone families found in S. mediterranea, known as epigenetic marks of these molecules and a survey of epigenetic modifying enzymes encoded by the planarian genome. We also review experimental evidence indicating that such modifications may in fact play key roles in determining the activities of planarian stem cells.
authors: Department of Plant Pathology & Microbiology, University of California-Riverside, California, USA; Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, University of California-Riverside, California, USA; Department of Botany & Plant Sciences, University of California-Riverside, California, USA.
authors: Sofia M C
authors: SM
authors: Robb
authors: Howard Hughes Medical Institute & Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Electronic address: asa@stowers.org.
authors: Alejandro
authors: A
authors: Sánchez Alvarado
mesh_terms: D000107:Acetylation; D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics; D002469:Cell Separation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D010932:Planarians / Q000502:physiology*; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000378:metabolism; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded
keywords: Epigenetics; Histone modifications; Histones; Planarians; Regeneration; Stem cells