Ribonucleic acid metabolism during planarian regeneration.

A method for the extraction of total RNA of the planarian Polycelis tenuis is described. This technique has been applied to the study of RNA synthesis in the course of regeneration. Synthesis of RNA begins 7 hrs after sectioning and proceeds in two phases. The first phase, from 7 to 21 hr is characterized by an increased rate of (3H) orotic acid incorporation into RNA up to the 18th after sectioning followed by a decrease between 18 and 21 hrs. The rate of precursor incorporation then had risen again in the second phase to the 30th hr and finally decreased slowly until completion of regeneration. Studies of the pool of nucleotide precursors, show that the observed variations of orotic acid incorporation into RNA reflect variations in RNA synthesis. Electrophoretic analysis of RNA labelled for 2 hrs at various times during regeneration shows that the product formed during the first phase of regeneration is mainly rRNA and low molecular weight RNA. The second phase of the regeneration process, from the 24th hr, is characterized by the appearance of both ribosomal and polydisperse RNAs. These heterogeneous RNA species are detected up to the 46th hr of regeneration, after which time rRNA again becomes predominent. The significance of the two phases of RNA metabolism of which this is the first observation during planarian regeneration is discussed in connection with other biochemical events which have been described during regeneration processes in planarians and other animals.