The sea cucumber genome provides insights into morphological evolution and visceral regeneration
Fig 7
Genes involved in the intestine regeneration of A. japonicus.
(A) Regeneration diagram showing A. japonicus (a) undergoing evisceration, (b) immediately post evisceration, and (c) after complete recovery. (B) A heatmap showing the expression profile of molecular events applicable to the intestinal regeneration of A. japonicus. It depicts the molecular events identified in this study in relation to the morphological diversification of regeneration in a diagrammatic sketch. The height and the color of trapezium represent the relative expression level (fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads [FPKM] value per gene) during the regeneration. High-expressed and low-expressed genes are labeled in red and green, respectively. Extracellular matrix (ECM)-related genes (collagen and fibropellin), signaling pathways (Wnt, bone morphogenetic protein-related genes, and epidermal growth factor-related genes), and myogenesis-related genes (tubulin) are activated at the early stage of regeneration (0–3 days post evisceration [dpe]). During the middle stage of regeneration (3–7 dpe), factors related to hormonal regulation are up-regulated. In the late stages of regeneration, ECM-related genes (tenascin, FRAS1, and collagen) and myogenesis-related genes (actin and myosin) show up-regulated expression. The physiological events happening during regeneration are shown below the x-axis. The data underlying Fig 7B can be found in S3 Data. FREP, fibrinogen-related protein.