Silencing of β-catenin1 blocks tail regeneration, but does not induce head regeneration in the flatworm Macrostomum lignano

• DOI: 10.1007/s00427-025-00726-8
• Publication Date: 2025-03-18T15:17:53Z
• Authors: Moses Kitilit Kibet; Jochen Hilchenbach; Lucy Neumann; Richard Mayer; Gerhard P. Aigner; Martina Höckner; Bert Hobmayer; Bernhard Egger
• Keywords: Flatworm; Planarian

Abstract β-Catenin has two major functions conserved across metazoans. It enables the interaction of classical cadherin with actin and it is main transcription factor activated by canonical Wnt pathway. In these functions, acts in patterning body axis early embroys, cell differentiation proliferation. flatworms, four β-catenin homologs have been identified planarian Schmidtea mediterranea. Functional studies revealed that only Smed-β-catenin1 can transduce signal plays a part defining posterior identity. We made phylogenetic reconstruction retrieved from wide range flatworms analysed role during regeneration Macrostomum lignano . at least copies all taxa except Catenulida; this suggests duplication occurred ancestrally Rhabditophora. M. , we detected 3 homologs. Upon knockdown homologs, Mlig-β-catenin1 blocked blastema formation tail. After knockdown, regenerates restored normal tails but instances imperfect or duplicated tails. Different to planarians, Mlig-β-catenins individually combination failed rescue head amputation levels anterior regenerates. Together, findings suggest β-catenin1 responsible for identity specification also Our study demonstrates ability upon may be an apomorphy not ancestral character flatworms.