New methods allow for insights into molecular mechanisms of regeneration
Tuesday, July 5, 2011 - 10:01
in Biology & Nature
Researchers of the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have gained new insights into planarian flatworms, which are an attractive model for stem cell biology and regeneration. Close collaboration between four laboratories at the BIMSB led by Stefan Kempa, Christoph Dieterich, Nikolaus Rajewsky and Wei Chen has led to the identification of thousands of gene products, many of which are expressed and are important in stem cell function. This was achieved by precise characterization of all RNA-molecules expressed in the animals' cells, the so-called transcriptome, without using the genome sequence.