Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Surgical Ablation Assay for Studying Eye Regeneration in Planarians
Published on: April 14, 2017
SoxB1 Activity Regulates Sensory Neuron Regeneration, Maintenance, and Function in Planarians
Kelly G Ross1, Alyssa M Molinaro2, Celeste Romero1
1Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA.
Abstract:
SoxB1 genes play fundamental roles in neurodevelopmental processes and maintaining stem cell multipotency, but little is known about their function in regeneration. We addressed this question by analyzing the activity of the SoxB1 homolog soxB1-2 in the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. Expression and functional analysis revealed that soxB1-2 marks ectodermal-lineage progenitors, and its activity is required for differentiation of subsets of ciliated epidermal and neuronal cells. Moreover, we show that inhibiting soxB1-2 or its candidate target genes leads to abnormal sensory neuron regeneration that causes planarians to display seizure-like movements or phenotypes associated with the loss of sensory modalities. Our analyses highlight soxB1-2-regulated genes that are expressed in sensory neurons and are homologous to factors implicated in epileptic disorders in humans and animal models of epilepsy, indicating that planarians can serve as a complementary model to investigate genetic causes of epilepsy.
Related Concept Videos
What is a Sensory System?
Sensory Functions of the Skin
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
Testosterone: Functions and Regulation
GTPases and their Regulation
Large G-proteins,...
Enteric Nervous System: Regulation of GI Motor Activity
During periods of fasting, the ENS initiates the migrating myoelectric complex, a...
GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity

