Feb 10, 2020 08:00:00

The `` regeneration gene '' of Wooper Looper that reproduces even the brain and heart is specified

by

Seánín Óg

Popular as a pet, Wooper Looper (Mexico salamander) has a remarkable regenerative ability to regenerate not only limbs but also the tail, eyes, ovaries, lung tissue, spinal cord, part of the heart and brain. A research team at Yale University has discovered a gene related to regenerative ability possessed by such a woopar looper.

Multiplex CRISPR / Cas screen in regenerating haploid limbs of chimeric Axolotls | eLife
https://elifesciences.org/articles/48511

Tiny salamander's huge genome may harbor the secrets of regeneration-ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200128114638.htm

Scientists Pinpoint Axolotl Genes Involved in Their Unique Body Regeneration
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-discover-axolotl-genes-involved-in-their-amazing-limb-regeneration

'Upper loopers can be almost completely regenerated if they are injured to the extent that they do not die,' said

Parker Flowers , a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University. The reproductive ability of Wooper Looper is not only interesting as a mystery of the natural world, but it is also possible that research on Wooper Looper may be useful for awakening human regenerative ability.

To be able to reproduce even if humans have their limbs cut, saving the `` wooper looper '' is the key-gigazine

by Ruben Undheim

The Wooper Looper's genome is extremely large, and the entire genome was analyzed in 2018. The whole genome of Wooper Looper is the most abundant animal to date, and is about 10 times as large as the human genome .

Based on the whole genome of Wooper Looper, Flowers and colleagues conducted a study to identify 'genes involved in the regeneration ability of Woopier Looper.' The research team has developed a method to track 25 genes that are thought to be involved in body regeneration by causing gene mutation in the limb of Wooper Looper using the gene editing technology ' CRISPR-Cas9 '.

After tracking genes that are thought to be involved in regenerative capacity, the team identified that two genes in the blastomere of Upper Looper contributed to the regeneration of the 'Upper Looper tail'.

'We developed a new screening platform that combines mutation induction and lineage tracing of targets to identify unknown factors that regulate regenerative capacity. Using this approach, We also found that an enzyme called catalase and a protein called fetuin B were required to regenerate the tail region, 'said the research team.

by AJC1

The research is still in its infancy, and the team believes that many genes, other than the ones discovered here, are involved in the reproductive capacity of Wooper Looper.