Limb Regrowth

Scientists found that some animals shared a genetic mechanism that controlled limb regrowth.

09:14 12 August 2016

The regeneration of cut off limbs seemed to be reserved for comic book heroes. However, scientists have found that some animals have a genetic mechanism that controlled limb regrowth, giving hope to unlocking their secrets that could ultimately benefit the human race.

 

Axolotl, a type of salamander found in Mexico, can regrow its legs, tail and even parts of its spinal cord. Scientists found that it shares a genetic mechanism with zebrafish and bichir, a ray-finned fish from Africa.

 

Dr Voot Yin, a biologist at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, who helped lead the research, said: 'Limb regeneration in humans may sound like science fiction, but it's within the realm of possibility.

 

'The fact that we've identified a genetic signature for limb regeneration in three different species with three different types of appendages suggests that nature has created a common genetic instruction manual governing regeneration that may be shared by all forms of animal life, including humans.'

 

The team has identified ten microRNA molecules, which are short sequences of genetic material that appear to play a role in the regeneration of limbs in the axolot, zebrafish and bichir.