Transcriptional Profiling of Planarian Regeneration Habituating to Physiological Stressor Reveals Individual and Collective Dynamics

Exposure to the potassium channel blocker barium chloride (BaCl₂) causes head degeneration in Dugesia japonica flatworms, followed by regeneration of BaCl ₂ -insensitive heads, offering a unique model for studying transcriptional resilience to novel stress. We performed RNA sequencing on individual planaria to investigate different transcriptional solutions to the BaCl ₂ challenge, and how regeneration history and social environment shape transcriptomic responses to BaCl₂. We identified a robust transcriptional strategy and a potential sub-strategy for enabling BaCl ₂ -insensitive head formation. Moreover, we observed pronounced transcriptional differences between untreated worms regenerating from tail fission fragments (tail-regenerated), and untreated full-sized worms that did not fission during the experiment (intact controls), highlighting the lasting impact of regeneration history. Relative to controls, tail-regenerated worms upregulated neurodevelopmental and morphogenetic programs, while downregulating mitochondrial transport and stress-response pathways. Relative to intact controls, BaCl₂-exposed regenerates upregulated ion transport, metabolic, cell cycle, and inflammatory pathways, while downregulating neuronal signaling, ion homeostasis, morphogenesis, and tissue repair programs. Comparison of BaCl₂-exposed isolated and BaCl₂-exposed group-housed worms revealed minimal transcriptional divergence between social conditions. These findings underscore the complex interplay between regeneration, chemical stress, and social context in shaping gene expression.