Single-cell transcriptomics and RNAi screening define a hierarchical program of planarian eye regeneration

The evolution and development of eyes are fundamental problems in biology, and numerous genetic and age-related degenerative eye diseases are still poorly understood. Planarians are flatworms that are able to fully regenerate functional eyes following injury, presenting a powerful model to study essential attributes of eye biology and regeneration. We performed single-cell eye transcriptomic analyses and large-scale RNA interference screening to define a hierarchical sequence of steps in eye regeneration and the genes that control each step in this process: from progenitor specification to differentiation into mature photoreceptors and melanin-pigmented optic cup cells, rhabdomere and dorsal projection formation in photoreceptors, eye morphogenesis (a self-organizing process where eyes trap progenitors and promote their differentiation), and interactions with the surrounding extracellular environment to produce a transparent region for light transmission. This hierarchical program defines roles for many conserved genes and establishes a framework for the regeneration of an entire organ.