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Planaria: An Animal Model That Integrates Development, Regeneration And Pharmacology, Oné R. Pagán

Biology Faculty Publications

Although planarians are established model organisms in developmental biology and regeneration studies, in the last forty years or so, they have caught the attention of pharmacologists, especially to study the pharmacology of drugs of abuse. This review covers the following topics: some fundamentals of the history of animal models and planarians in biomedical research; an abbreviated story of systematic pharmacology research using planarians as a model organism; an example of how planarians are contributing to the search for compounds against acute cocaine toxicity; an analysis of the number of papers on planarians and pharmacological topics from 1900- 2016; some perspectives …

The Neotropical Genus Austrolebias: An Emerging Model Of Annual Killifishes, Nibia Berois, María J. Arezo, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Annual fishes are found in both Africa and South America occupying ephemeral ponds that dried seasonally. Neotropical annual fishes are members of the family Rivulidae that consist of both annual and non-annual fishes. Annual species are characterized by a prolonged embryonic development and a relatively short adult life.

Males and females show striking sexual dimorphisms, complex courtship, and mating behaviors. The prolonged embryonic stage has several traits including embryos that are resistant to desiccation and undergo up to three reversible developmental arrests until hatching. These unique developmental adaptations are closely related to the annual fish life cycle and are the …