Snap ChAT: A Flatworm Creates a New Profile

Snap ChAT: A Flatworm Creates a New Profile

Collections: Image Award Winners

2017 Award Winner

Samuel A. LoCascio, Kutay Deniz Atabay, Peter Reddien

MIT Department of Biology, MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Whitehead Institute

The planarian flatworm shown here possesses a remarkable ability to regenerate complex tissue structures lost to injury, including a brain and eyes. Each color represents a different layer of neurons in the head, revealed by expression of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene. Not shown in this image are the abundant stem cells that give rise to a new central nervous system as the flatworm regenerates. The Reddien Lab studies planarians to illuminate the cellular and molecular basis of regeneration.

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