Revisiting the regeneration of Stenostomum leucops (Catenulida, Platyhelminthes)

ABSTRACT Stenostomum are small flatworms that live in freshwater and normally reproduce by paratomy. They are basal in Platyhelminthes phylogeny. For more than a century, species of this genus, especially S. leucops, have been used in regeneration studies. However, some contradictory results remain, as there are concerns about which body parts regenerate, and their routes of regeneration. Problems in species identification are a possible explanation for these contradictory results. Regeneration studies were repeated, transforming the worms with vectors carrying an eye-specific GFP (green fluorescence protein) marker in a characterized strain. All regeneration patterns described previously were observed in this strain, showing that these complex regeneration routes are probably associated with the different parts of the body that were cut. Stenostomum species are promising experimental organisms for using a transcriptome approach in regeneration studies.