How lizards regenerate their tails: researchers discover genetic ‘recipe’
The genetic regeneration pathway
“Lizards basically share the same toolbox of genes as humans,” said lead author Kenro Kusumi, professor in ASU’s School of Life Sciences and associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. “We discovered that they turn on at least 326 genes in specific regions of the regenerating tail, including genes involved in embryonic development, response to hormonal signals, and wound healing.”
Other animals, such as salamanders, frog tadpoles, and fish, can also regenerate their tails, with growth mostly at the tip. During tail regeneration, they all turn on genes in what is called the ‘Wnt pathway’ — a process that is required to control stem cells in many organs such as the brain, hair follicles and blood vessel.
However, lizards have a unique pattern of tissue growth that is distributed throughout the tail. It takes lizards more than 60 days to regenerate a functional tail — forming a complex regenerating structure with cells growing into different tissues at a number of sites along the tail.
“Using next-generation technologies to sequence all the genes expressed during regeneration, we have unlocked the mystery of what genes are needed to regrow the lizard tail,” said Kusumi. “By following the genetic recipe for regeneration that is found in lizards, and then harnessing those same genes in human cells, it may be possible to regrow new cartilage, muscle or even spinal cord in the future.”
The researchers also hope their findings will also help repairing birth defects and treating diseases such as arthritis.
Scientists from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Translational Genomic Research Institute, and Michigan State University where also involved in the research, which was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Arizona Biomedical Research Commission.
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