Regeneration is a marvellous process in which the delicate balance between proliferation and differentiation eventually leads to the restoration of missing body structures. The ability to regenerate is, however, unequally distributed in the animal kingdom. Planarians are masters of regeneration and represent the perfect exercise room to understand the molecular mechanisms behind this largely unknown process. In our lab, we try to understand how neoblasts, the planarian stem cells, maintain their stemness, control their proliferative ability, and, eventually, differentiate. In doing that, we also focus on the ‘control station’ that regulates neoblast behavior – the chromatoid body. Typically found in the germline of virtually any metazoans, the chromatoid body provides planarian stem cells with the ability to quickly react to external cues, and is essential for neoblast biology.

Web site: Planarian Stem Cell Laboratory

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