Date of Award

Spring 5-6-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

First Advisor

Kathy Gillen

Abstract

Animals vary in their ability to replace body parts lost to injury, a phenomenon known as regeneration. Uncovering conserved signaling steps required for regeneration may aid regenerative medicine. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are necessary for proper regeneration in species across a wide range of taxa, but it is unknown whether ROS are essential for annelid regeneration. Since annelids are a widely used and excellent model for regeneration, we sought to determine whether ROS play a role in the regeneration of the highly regenerative annelid, Lumbriculus variegatus. Our findings reveal a temporal and spatial production of ROS within the first 24 hours after amputation; the transient production of ROS is observed immediately after amputation, with the accumulation of ROS at the wound site. Inhibition of this ROS burst led to a delay in regeneration, an impairment that was partially rescued with exogenous ROS. Our results suggest that similar to other animals, annelid regeneration depends upon ROS signaling, implying a phylogenetically ancient requirement for ROS in regeneration.

Rights Statement

All rights reserved. This copy is provided to the Kenyon Community solely for individual academic use. For any other use, please contact the copyright holder for permission.

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