PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Aldine R. Amiel AU - Kevin Foucher AU - Solène Ferreira AU - Eric Röttinger TI - Synergic coordination of stem cells is required to induce a regenerative response in anthozoan cnidarians AID - 10.1101/2019.12.31.891804 DP - 2019 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2019.12.31.891804 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/12/31/2019.12.31.891804.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/12/31/2019.12.31.891804.full AB - Little is known about the origin of the inductive signal that translates the amputation stress into a cooperative cellular response. By studying the process underlying the reformation of lost body parts in the anthozoan cnidarian Nematostella vectensis, we identified a regeneration-inducing structure that, via a tissue crosstalk, is responsible for the initiation of the repair program. We further revealed for the first time in anthozoan cnidarians, that fast and slow-cycling/quiescent stem cells respond to the amputation stress and actively participate in the reformation of lost body parts. Importantly, a synergic interaction of both stem cell populations is required to complete the regeneration process. Our findings suggest that the emergence/loss of structure complexity/compartmentalization influences the proprieties of tissue plasticity, changes the competence of a tissue to reprogram and, in the context of regeneration, the capacity of the tissue to emit or respond to a regeneration-inducing signal.