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Characterisation and Regeneration of Diopatra Claparedii
Nervous System
Dhenmolly Arumugam
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof Dr. Wan Iryani Binti Wan Ismail
Bachelor of Science (Biological Sciences)
School of Fundamental Science
Diopatra claparedii has the potential to serve as an animal model for
neurodegenerative diseases study due to their complete nervous system and
regenerative ability. However, the whole diagram of nervous system of D. claparedii
in intact condition and after regeneration process is still unknown. In this study, the
intact samples were fixed with hematoxylin and eosin staining for characterization.
Amputated samples were placed in the artificial aquaria to observe their regeneration
capability within 60 days (20 days interval) before the staining. The major findings
showed that the intact samples have complete nervous system with the presence of
an anterior dorsal brain and ventral nerve cord, which is segmentally ganglionated.
The histology also revealed that nervous system of regenerated samples differs where
their brain were smaller than intact brain. Presence of brain and ventral nerve cord
validates that D. claparedii nervous system is similar and suitable for human nervous
system study.
382 | U M T U N D E R G R A D U A T E R E S E A R C H D A Y 2018