Regeneration Roadmap02.20.2013 | Science, Faculty, Research,
Health Scientists at the University of Dayton have mapped out
the process at the genetic level newts use to regenerate lenses,
limbs and other tissue. The research, published this week in
BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology, identifies
the protein families expressed during tissue regeneration in the
common North American newt, laying the groundwork for research
into what particular sets of genes are used for this purpose.
This is the first comprehensive map of all RNA molecules —
called the transcriptome — expressed in regeneration. "This is
the first time the newt transcriptome has been constructed,
especially in relation to regeneration," said Panagiotis Tsonis,
a co-author of the study. "Several new protein families have
been identified and this could provide unprecedented insights to
regeneration processes and as to why other animals do not have
the abilities of the newts." Newt and salamander genomes are
enormous — currently too