Do real stem cells and stem cell lineages exist in lower organisms? Can
stem cells from one organism parasitize the soma and/or the germ line of
conspecifics? Can differentiated cells in marine organisms be
re-programmed to regenerate tissues, organs and appendages through novel
de-differentiation, transdifferentiation, or re-differentiation
processes, leading to virtually all three germ layers, including the
germline? The positive answers to above questions open a new avenue in
stem cell research: the biology of stem cells in marine organisms. It is
therefore unfortunate that while the literature on stem cell from
terrestrial organisms is rich and expanding at an exponential rate,
investigations on marine organisms' stem cells are very limited and
scarce.
By presenting theoretical chapters, overview essays and specific
research results, this book summarises the knowledge and the hypotheses
on stem cells in marine organisms through major phyla and specific model
organisms. The study on stem cells from marine invertebrates may shed
lights on mechanisms promoting immunity, developmental biology,
regeneration and budding processes in marine invertebrates, body
maintenance, aging and senescence. It aims in encouraging a larger
scientific community to follow and study the novel phenomena of stem
cells behaviours as depicted from the few currently studied marine
invertebrates.
