Transcriptomic analysis reveals differences in the regulation of amino acid metabolism in asexual and sexual planarians
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Many flatworms can alternate between asexual and sexual reproduction. This is a powerful reproductive strategy enabling them to benefit from the features of the two reproductive modes, namely, rapid multiplication and genetic shuffling. The two reproductive modes are enabled by the presence of pluripotent adult stem cells (neoblasts), by generating any type of tissue in the asexual mode, and producing and maintaining germ cells in the sexual mode. In the current study, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to compare the transcriptomes of two phenotypes of the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis: an asexual OH strain and an experimentally sexualized OH strain. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed striking differences in amino acid metabolism in the two worm types. Further, the analysis identified serotonin as a new bioactive substance that induced the planarian ovary de novo in a postembryonic manner. These findings suggest that different metabolic states and physiological conditions evoked by sex-inducing substances likely modulate stem cell behavior, depending on their different function in the asexual and sexual reproductive modes. The combination of RNA-seq and a feeding assay in D. ryukyuensis is a powerful tool for studying the alternation of reproductive modes, disentangling the relationship between gene expression and chemical signaling molecules.
Source: Scientific Reports
Institutions: Hirosaki University, National Institute of Technology, Tsuyama College, Tohoku University, Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer, Tohoku University, National Institute for Basic Biology, Iwate Medical University, Keio University, Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Research and Education Center for Natural Sciences, Keio University, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,790
Awards: G1162029358, Mechanism involved in the biosynthesis of a sex-inducing substance in the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis, Regulation of oogenesis by the unique metabolic status in fetal germ cells, G33008784, Identification and analysis of lipophilic ligands for the nuclear receptor essential for planarian sexualization, Towards the elucidation of factors affecting the reproductive modes of the planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis., Comparing the sexualization mechanisms of related species planarians using sex-inducing factors to clarify the evolution of reproductive strategy, G8542136943
OpenAlex ID: W2937540933