August
5, 2016
The
axolotl, or Mexican salamander, is one of the three regenerative species
described in a new paper that identified common genetic regulators governing
limb regeneration in all three species. The findings suggest that these
regulators …more
Many
lower organisms retain the miraculous ability to regenerate form and function
of almost any tissue after injury. Humans share many of our genes with these
organisms, but our capacity for regeneration is limited. Scientists at the MDI
Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, are studying the genetics of these
organisms to find out how regenerative mechanisms might be activated in humans.
The
ability of animals to regenerate body parts has fascinated scientists since the
time of Aristotle. But until the advent of sophisticated tools for genetic and
computational analysis, scientists had no way of studying the genetic machinery
that enables regeneration.
Using such tools, scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory have identified
genetic regulators governing regeneration that are common across species.
In
a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE, MDI Biological Laboratory
scientists Benjamin L. King, Ph.D., and Voot P. Yin, Ph.D., identified these
common genetic regulators in three regenerative species: the zebrafish, a
common aquarium fish originally from India; the axolotl, a salamander native to
the lakes of Mexico; and the bichir, a ray-finned fish from Africa.
The
discovery of genetic mechanisms common to all three of these species, which
diverged on the evolutionary tree about 420 million years ago, suggests that
these mechanisms aren't specific to individual species, but have been conserved
by nature through evolution.
"I
remember that day very well—it was a fantastic feeling," said King of the
discovery. "We didn't expect the patterns of genetic expression to be
vastly different in the three species, but it was amazing to see that they were
consistently the same."
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