Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Chemical Amputation and Regeneration of the Pharynx in the Planarian Schmidtea mediterranea
Published on: March 26, 2018
The genome of Schmidtea mediterranea and the evolution of core cellular mechanisms
Markus Alexander Grohme1, Siegfried Schloissnig2, Andrei Rozanski1
1Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
Abstract:
The planarian Schmidtea mediterranea is an important model for stem cell research and regeneration, but adequate genome resources for this species have been lacking. Here we report a highly contiguous genome assembly of S. mediterranea, using long-read sequencing and a de novo assembler (MARVEL) enhanced for low-complexity reads. The S. mediterranea genome is highly polymorphic and repetitive, and harbours a novel class of giant retroelements. Furthermore, the genome assembly lacks a number of highly conserved genes, including critical components of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint, but planarians maintain checkpoint function. Our genome assembly provides a key model system resource that will be useful for studying regeneration and the evolutionary plasticity of core cell biological mechanisms.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
Genomics
The Evidence for Evolution
Convergent Evolution
The Nucleosome Core Particle
The paradox
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their main responsibility is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. While on the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access DNA...

