Flatworms Grow the Heads, Brains and Characteristics of Other Species

Researchers from Tufts University reveal in this new study how large scale anatomy is not entirely linked in the genome where this can also be affected by physiological circuitry outside the genes of flatworms.

The research is important because it serves as proof for a new type of physiological governing system that is separate from the genome. DOROTOCEPHALA, a species of flatworm, to grow head of another flatworm species and the experiment was conducted successfully without changing the genomic sequence.

Flatworms have always been studied for their regenerative abilities. As such, countless of the spade-headed worms have been minced to pieces in the name of teaching and learning.

Levin holds the Vannevar Bush Chair in biology and directs the Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology in the School of the Arts and Sciences at Tufts. What’s more, we don’t have to mess with their DNA code at all to do so.

Without altering the genomic sequence, biologists created a group of hybrid flatworms with bodies and heads from two separate species.

Flatworms are able to grow the heads and brains of other species, with a little coaxing by scientists who manipulate their cell communication. In other words, holy gee, we turned this worm’s head into another head.

The images on the bottom show the transformation of the G. dorotocephala flatworm. Some of them grew rounded heads, and looked liked the flatworm species, S. mediterranea. Humans only have totipotent types of stem cells when we are in our first days of embryonic development, though the research shows promise for one day treating birth defects, and for potentially regrowing missing digits and even limbs.

Scientists at Tufts tweaked the cellular signals of flatworms to accomplish just that, according to a study published Tuesday in International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Aside from helping gain some insight into the evolutionary process, it could also help improve understanding of both birth defects and regeneration.

‘These findings raise significant questions about how genes and bioelectric networks interact to build complex body structures’.

However, in this study since they were able to make the flatworm grow heads and brains of other species, of course belonging to the same family, it has been proved that the physiological structure is not exclusively dependent on the genetic material.

The results were extremely pronounced, with not only the outer appearance of the creature’s head changing after the testing, but also the actual shape of the brain and the distribution of the worms’ stem cells.

Here, it must be mentioned that the changes made to the flatworm’s head were temporary. The freakish accomplishment adds to a growing body of research highlighting the importance of non-DNA factors – collectively known as the “epigenome” – in determining the most fundamental aspects of an organism’s anatomy. Along with these head variations come changes in brain size and shape.