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Mechanisms Of Axial Polarity Modification During Postembryonic Development Of The Basal Bilaterian Convolutriloba Macropyga, Laura N. Crowther, James M. Sikes Ph.D.

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Acoel flatworms have varied modes of asexual reproduction that involve dramatic postembryonic modification of their anterior-posterior (AP) axis. The acoel species Convolutriloba macropyga reproduces through a reversed polarity budding process in which offspring develop from two posterior budding sites with a complete reversal of the AP axis compared to the parent. Reversed polarity budding is preceded by the development of a zone of tissue with disorganized musculature that is incapable of regeneration, suggesting a transient loss of axis polarity at each budding site. For this reason, these tissues are titled the polarity transition zone (PTZ). While this alteration of existing …