@article {1675,
	title = {Identification and characterization of a novel multifunctional placenta specific protein 8 in <i>Dugesia japonica</i>},
	volume = {613},
	year = {2017},
	month = {2017/5/20/},
	pages = {1 - 9},
	abstract = {<p>AbstractPlacenta specific protein 8 (Plac8) has been well studied in vertebrates, yet little is known in invertebrates. In this study, a novel Plac8 from the planarian Dugesia japonica was identified and its functions in immune responses and development were characterized. Our results show that Djplac8 was expressed in the pharynx, epidermis and intestine of intact adult planarian. The expression of DjPlac8 increased significantly upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, and inhibited the growth of the Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), suggesting the role of Plac8 in immune response. Spatial and temporal expression and distribution of DjPlac8 mRNA in regenerated planarians indicates that DjPlac8 was mainly expressed in the pharynx. In situ hybridization also revealed the elevated expression of the DjPlac8 gene in the embryonic pharynx, germ band and parenchyma cells, indicating an important role in embryonic development of D. japonica. When DjPlac8 was deactivated by RNA interference-mediated knockdown, the head of planarians underwent abnormal development. In summary, we identified DjPlac8 as a novel multifunctional protein that plays essential roles in immune response and development of planarians.</p>
},
	keywords = {Development, Immunity, Pharynx, Plac8, planarian},
	isbn = {0378-1119},
	url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378111917301130},
	author = {Pang, Qiuxiang and Gao, Lili and Bai, Yun and Deng, Hongkuan and Han, Yu and Hu, Wenjing and Zhang, Yanhui and Yuan, Shanhang and Sun, Wenping and Lu, Yiqian and Zhang, Xiufang and Liu, Baohua and Zhao, Bosheng}
}
@article {1546,
	title = {De Novo Transcriptome Analysis Provides Insights into Immune Related Genes and the RIG-I-Like Receptor Signaling Pathway in the Freshwater Planarian (Dugesia japonica)},
	journal = {PLoS ONE},
	volume = {11},
	year = {2016},
	month = {2016},
	pages = {e0151597},
	publisher = {Public Library of Science},
	address = {San Francisco, CA USA},
	abstract = {BACKGROUND: The freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica (D. japonica) possesses extraordinary ability to regenerate lost organs or body parts. Interestingly, in the process of regeneration, there is little wound infection, suggesting that D. japonica has a formidable innate immune system. The importance of immune system prompted us to search for immune-related genes and RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathways. RESULTS: Transcriptome sequencing of D. japonica was performed on an IlluminaHiSeq2000 platform. A total of 27,180 transcripts were obtained by Trinity assembler. CEGMA analysis and mapping of all trimmed reads back to the assembly result showed that our transcriptome assembly covered most of the whole transcriptome. 23,888 out of 27,180 transcripts contained ORF (open reading fragment), and were highly similar to those in Schistosoma mansoni using BLASTX analysis. 8,079 transcripts (29.7\%) and 8,668 (31.9\%) were annotated by Blast2GO and KEGG respectively. A DYNLRB-like gene was cloned to verify its roles in the immune response. Finally, the expression patterns of 4 genes (RIG-I, TRAF3, TRAF6, P38) in the RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway were detected, and the results showed they are very likely to be involved in planarian immune response. CONCLUSION: RNA-Seq analysis based on the next-generation sequencing technology was an efficient approach to discover critical genes and to understand their corresponding biological functions. Through GO and KEGG analysis, several critical and conserved signaling pathways and genes related to RIG-I-like receptor signaling pathway were identified. Four candidate genes were selected to identify their expression dynamics in the process of pathogen stimulation. These annotated transcripts of D. japonica provide a useful resource for subsequent investigation of other important pathways.},
	isbn = {1932-6203},
	url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4795655/},
	author = {Pang, Qiuxiang and Gao, Lili and Hu, Wenjing and An, Yang and Deng, Hongkuan and Zhang, Yichao and Sun, Xiaowen and Zhu, Guangzhong and Liu, Baohua and Zhao, Bosheng},
	editor = {Robinson-Rechavi, Marc}
}
