Towards comparative analyses of salamander limb regeneration

Varun B. Dwaraka, S. Randal Voss

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Among tetrapods, only salamanders can regenerate their limbs and tails throughout life. This amazing regenerative ability has attracted the attention of scientists for hundreds of years. Now that large, salamander genomes are beginning to be sequenced for the first time, omics tools and approaches can be used to integrate new perspectives into the study of tissue regeneration. Here we argue the need to move beyond the primary salamander models to investigate regeneration in other species. Salamanders at first glance come across as a phylogenetically conservative group that has not diverged greatly from their ancestors. While salamanders do present ancestral characteristics of basal tetrapods, including the ability to regenerate limbs, data from fossils and data from studies that have tested for species differences suggest there may be considerable variation in how salamanders develop and regenerate their limbs. We review the case for expanded studies of salamander tissue regeneration and identify questions and approaches that are most likely to reveal commonalities and differences in regeneration among species. We also address challenges that confront such an initiative, some of which are regulatory and not scientific. The time is right to gain evolutionary perspective about mechanisms of tissue regeneration from comparative studies of salamander species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)129-144
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution
Volume336
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Funding

RV was supported by the National Institutes of Health (P40OD019794, R24OD010435).

FundersFunder number
National Institutes of Health (NIH)R24OD010435, P40OD019794

    Keywords

    • comparative analysis
    • evolution
    • limb regeneration
    • salamander

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
    • Molecular Medicine
    • Animal Science and Zoology
    • Genetics
    • Developmental Biology

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