In order to regenerate tissues successfully, stem cells must detect injuries and restore missing cell types through largely unknown mechanisms. Planarian flatworms have an extensive population responsible for regenerating any organ after amputation. Here, we compare planarian responses different by either amputation of a single organ, the pharynx, or removal from other organs decapitation. We f...

We have previously shown that the Caenorhabditis elegans gut-specific esterase gene (Ce-ges-1) has the unusual ability to be expressed in different modules of the embryonic digestive tract (anterior pharynx, posterior pharynx, and rectum) depending on sequence elements within the Ce-ges-1 promoter. In the present paper, we analyze the expression of the ges-1 homolog (Cb-ges-1) from the related ...

Aging is associated with functional and structural declines in many body systems, even in the absence of underlying disease. In particular, skeletal muscles experience severe declines during aging, a phenomenon termed sarcopenia. Despite the high incidence and severity of sarcopenia, little is known about contributing factors and development. Many studies focus on functional aspects of aging-re...

The avian gastrointestinal tract (GIT) has undergone a multitude of changes during evolution to become a unique anatomical and physiological structure when compared to other animal orders. On the one hand it has evolved to take advantage of the physical and chemical characteristics of a wide variety of food types. On the other hand, it has had to do so within the limitations of the requirements...

The study of the pharynx in nematode Metarhabditis andrassyana (Tahseen et al. Int J Nematol 14:163–168, 2004) revealed that activity declined with age and was also reduced absence E.coli. A comparison between presence bacteria same group a reduction pharyngeal pumping both 2-day-old individuals 8-day-old individuals. However, when nematodes were placed together groups varying numbers, pulsatio...

Morphometric analyses are used to evaluate the taxonomic status of two sympatric variants of Gyrodactylus anisopharynx Popazoglo et Boeger, 2000 (forma "large-pharynx" and forma "small-pharynx"). The parasites were collected from the Piraquara River and the Miringuava River, State of Paraná, Brazil, between February 2005 and May 2006. A total of 132 parasites were measured from two hosts, Coryd...