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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Pharmacological and Functional Genetic Assays to Manipulate Regeneration of the Planarian Dugesia japonica
Published on: August 31, 2011
Planarians: a versatile and powerful model system for molecular studies of regeneration, adult stem cell regulation,
Néstor J Oviedo1, Cindy L Nicolas, Dany S Adams
1Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, Forsyth Institute and Developmental Biology Department, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Abstract:
INTRODUCTIONIn recent years, planarians have been increasingly recognized as an emerging model organism amenable to molecular genetic techniques aimed at understanding complex biological tasks commonly observed among metazoans. Growing evidence suggests that this model organism is uniquely poised to inform us about the mechanisms of tissue regeneration, stem cell regulation, tissue turnover, pharmacological action of diverse drugs, cancer, and aging. This article provides an overview of the planarian model system with special attention to the species Schmidtea mediterranea. Additionally, information is provided about the most popular use of this organism, together with modern genomic resources and technical approaches.
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