"The freshwater flatworm Stenostomum brevipharyngium is, by all accounts, a simple fellow. The worm is small and entirely soft. It has no eyes, only sensory pits that control balance and orientation. This simplicity makes it easy for S. brevipharyngium to make more of itself in every way possible. The flatworm can regenerate major parts of its body, such as sensory organs and musculature, as well as make more worms via asexual reproduction."
"These flatworms reproduce through a process called paratomy, in which an individual forms new organs inside their original body before splitting into two. This happens through a different molecular process than mere regeneration, in which a split worm regrows a head or a tail. In paratomy, the worm must obey its existing body axis-understanding which end of the original worm is the head and which is the tail so they can put their new tail and new head in the right places."
Stenostomum brevipharyngium is a small, soft freshwater flatworm without eyes and with sensory pits for balance and orientation. The species regenerates major body parts and reproduces asexually. Reproduction occurs by paratomy, a process in which new organs form inside the original body prior to splitting, distinct from regeneration after a split. Paratomy requires correct interpretation of the existing body axis to place new head and tail structures. Laboratory cultures showed mostly normal splitting but occasional double-headed individuals, indicating occasional failures or alterations in axis specification or the molecular processes governing paratomy.
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