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Photoreception is one of the most primitive sensory functions in metazoans. Despite the diversity of forms and components of metazoan eyes, many studies have demonstrated the existence of a common cellular and molecular basis for their development. Genes like pax6, sine oculis, eyes absent, dachshund, otx, Rx and atonal are known to be associated with the specification and development of the eyes. In planarians, sine oculis, eyes absent and otxA play an essential role during the formation of the eye after decapitation, whereas pax6, considered by many authors as a master control gene for eye formation, does not seem to be involved in adult eye regeneration. Whether this is a peculiarity of adult planarians or, on the contrary, is also found in embryogenesis remains unknown. Herein, we characterize embryonic eye development in the planarian species Schmidtea polychroa using histological sections and molecular markers. Additionally, we analyse the expression pattern of the pax6- sine oculis- eyes absent- dachshund network, and the genes Rx, otxA, otxB and atonal. We demonstrate that eye formation in planarian embryos shows great similarities to adult eye regeneration, both at the cellular and molecular level. We thus conclude that planarian eyes exhibit divergent molecular patterning mechanisms compared to the prototypic ancestral metazoan eye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triclad flatworms are well studied for their regenerative properties, yet little is known about their embryonic development. We here describe the embryonic development of the tricladSchmidtea polychroa, using histological and immunocytochemical analysis of whole-mount preparations and sections. During early cleavage (stage 1), yolk cells fuse and enclose the zygote into a syncytium. The zygote divides into blastomeres that dissociate and migrate into the syncytium. During stage 2, a subset of blastomeres differentiate into a transient embryonic epidermis that surrounds the yolk syncytium, and an embryonic pharynx. Other blastomeres divide as a scattered population of cells in the syncytium. During stage 3, the embryonic pharynx imbibes external yolk cells and a gastric cavity is formed in the center of the syncytium. The syncytial yolk and the blastomeres contained within it are compressed into a thin peripheral rind. From a location close to the embryonic pharynx, which defines the posterior pole, bilaterally symmetric ventral nerve cord pioneers extend forward. Stage 4 is characterized by massive proliferation of embryonic cells. Large yolk-filled cells lining the syncytium form the gastrodermis. During stage 5 the external syncytial yolk mantle is resorbed and the embryonic cells contained within differentiate into an irregular scaffold of muscle and nerve cells. Epidermal cells differentiate and replace the transient embryonic epidermis. Through stages 6-8, the embryo adopts its worm-like shape, and loosely scattered populations of differentiating cells consolidate into structurally defined organs. Our analysis reveals a picture ofS. polychroaembryogenesis that resembles the morphogenetic events underlying regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]