Dr. Elizabeth Duncan | Duncan Lab

Abstract:
For centuries, scientists have been fascinated and mystified by the phenomenon of regeneration: how do some adult animals respond to traumatic injury by recreating new, functional body parts? Further, how do they appropriately activate programs that increase cell proliferation without compromising the health of the organism? Although the regeneration field has made significant progress in identifying genes and pathways that are activated upon injury and required for faithful regeneration, we still know surprisingly little about the exact molecules and mechanisms that regulate the expression of these genes, ensuring they are transcribed in the appropriate cell types at the correct times. In my lab, we use planarian flatworms to address these questions. We find that chromatin-modifying enzymes play important and surprisingly specific roles in planarian tissue regeneration, despite their ubiquitous expression in most cell types. Importantly, these enzymes are highly conserved across the animal kingdom, suggesting that our discoveries in planarians have the potential to shed light on the basis of several human disorders caused by mutations in these genes.