morphallaxislike

Morphallaxis-like describes developmental or regenerative processes in which preexisting tissues are reorganized to form new structures with little cell proliferation. In such cases, mature cells may dedifferentiate, switch fates, and rearrange, rather than generating large numbers of new cells. The term echoes morphallaxis, a historical description of rapid tissue remodeling observed in some hydra, and is used to describe processes with similar features.

Mechanisms involve tissue remodeling, cell shape changes, migration, and dedifferentiation; patterning signals guide reestablishment of axes and organ identities. Proliferation is reduced or localized, and apoptosis can contribute to removing unsuitable tissue. The balance between remodeling and growth varies by organism and context.

Typical contexts include certain cnidarians and other invertebrates during regeneration or developmental remodeling. Hydra is the classic example; in other taxa, reports of morphallaxis-like remodeling are more limited and sometimes controversial, with partial overlap with dedifferentiation.

Relation to other regenerative modes: morphallaxis-like processes are contrasted with epimorphosis, which relies on a proliferative blastema to replace lost tissue. In practice, many regenerative systems exhibit a continuum between remodeling and new growth rather than a single mode.

Research relevance: studying morphallaxis-like regeneration sheds light on cellular plasticity, pattern formation, and tissue engineering. Key questions include identifying signaling pathways that trigger dedifferentiation and establishing how positional information is preserved during remodeling.

See also: morphallaxis, epimorphosis, regeneration, dedifferentiation, transdifferentiation, blastema.