Two-headed planaria: Changes in target morphology through temporary gap junction inhibition
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Planaria are incredibly regenerative flatworms and offer an excellent model for exploring top-down interventions in biological systems. Here, I demonstrate a replication of a two-headed planarian phenotype by using gap junction inhibitors to modify the bioelectric state of regenerating worms. No alteration to the organism’s genome was required to achieve a lasting change in the organism’s final morphology. These results add further evidence to growing reports that bioelectric state may be an effective target for modifying macroscopic outcomes within a biological system.
