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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Piwi Homologs Mediate Histone H4 Mrna Localization To Planarian Chromatoid Bodies, Labib Rouhana, Jennifer A. Weiss, Ryan S. King, Phillip A. Newmark
Piwi Homologs Mediate Histone H4 Mrna Localization To Planarian Chromatoid Bodies, Labib Rouhana, Jennifer A. Weiss, Ryan S. King, Phillip A. Newmark
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
The well-known regenerative abilities of planarian flatworms are attributed to a population of adult stem cells called neoblasts that proliferate and differentiate to produce all cell types. A characteristic feature of neoblasts is the presence of large cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein granules named chromatoid bodies, the function of which has remained largely elusive. This study shows that histone mRNAs are a common component of chromatoid bodies. Our experiments also demonstrate that accumulation of histone mRNAs, which is typically restricted to the S phase of eukaryotic cells, is extended during the cell cycle of neoblasts. The planarian PIWI homologs SMEDWI-1 and SMEDWI-3 are …