gamete-collection-and-in-vitro-fertilization-of-astyanax-mexicanus

Gamete Collection and In Vitro Fertilization of <em>Astyanax mexicanus</em>

Astyanax mexicanus is emerging as a model organism for a variety of research fields in biological science. Part of the recent success of this teleost fish ...

Stowers Institute for Medical Research

The interrelationship between endogenous microbiota, the immune system, and tissue regeneration is an area of intense research due to its potential therapeutic applications. We investigated this relationship in Schmidtea mediterranea, a model organism capable of regenerating any and all of its adult tissues. Microbiome characterization revealed a high Bacteroidetes to Proteobacteria ratio in healthy animals. Perturbations eliciting an expansion of Proteobacteria coincided with ectopic lesions and tissue degeneration. The culture of these bacteria yielded a strain of Pseudomonas capable of inducing progressive tissue degeneration. RNAi screening uncovered a TAK1 innate immune signaling module underlying compromised tissue homeostasis and regeneration during infection. TAK1/MKK/p38 signaling mediated opposing regulation of apoptosis during infection versus normal tissue regeneration. Given the complex role of inflammation in either hindering or supporting reparative wound healing and regeneration, this invertebrate model provides a basis for dissecting the duality of evolutionarily conserved inflammatory signaling in complex, multi-organ adult tissue regeneration.

Pathogenic shifts in endogenous microbiota impede tissue regeneration via distinct activation of TAK1/MKK/p38.

Planaria, particularly Schmidtea mediterranea and Dugesia japonica, are now established as research organisms in many laboratories across the life sciences community. Planarians are cheap and easy to keep in the lab. This chapter provides techniques and guidelines for establishing and maintaining a planarian colony. We provide sections on food preparation, housing, feeding, cleaning, culture expansion by amputation, and recognizing and responding to culture problems.

M. Shane Merryman

Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Gamete Collection and In Vitro Fertilization of Astyanax mexicanus