Expression Profiles of Planarain Stem Cells and their Immediate Division Progeny

Throughout adulthood, the replacement of cells lost to physiological turnover or injury in planarians is sustained by the proliferation and differentiation of adult stem cells known as neoblasts. Because neoblasts are the only known mitotic cells in asexual planarians, they can be efficiently eliminated by irradiation without significantly affecting post-mitotic differentiated cells. We uncovered a cohort of transcripts specific to the stem cells and their division progeny by defining the expression profiles of wild type and irradiated animals at different time points after irradiation. RNA from wild type animals, or from animals 24 hours or seven days after exposure to radiation, were compared to a common reference.