Salamanders exhibit an extraordinary ability among vertebrates to regenerate complex body parts. However, scarce genomic resources have limited our understanding of regeneration in adult salamanders. Here, we present the ~20 Gb genome and transcriptome of the Iberian ribbed newt Pleurodeles waltl, a tractable species suitable for laboratory research. We find that embryonic stem cell-specific miRNAs mir-93b and mir-427/430/302, as well as Harbinger DNA transposons carrying the Myb-like proto-oncogene have expanded dramatically in the Pleurodeleswaltl genome and are co-expressed during limb regeneration. Moreover, we find that a family of salamander methyltransferases is expressed specifically in adult appendages. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to perturb transcription factors, we demonstrate that, unlike the axolotl, Pax3 is present and necessary for development and that contrary to mammals, muscle regeneration is normal without functional Pax7 gene. Our data provide a foundation for comparative genomic studies that generate models for the uneven distribution of regenerative capacities among vertebrates. The Iberian ribbed newt Pleurodeles waltl has a wide spectrum of regeneration abilities. Here, Elewa et al. sequence its ~20 Gb genome and transcriptome to investigate the molecular features underlying its regenerative capacities.
Reading and editing the Pleurodeles waltl genome reveals novel features of tetrapod regeneration
Heng Wang,Carlos Talavera-López,A. Joven,Gonçalo Brito,Anoop Kumar,L. Hameed,M. Penrad-Mobayed,Zeyu Yao,Neda Zamani,Yamen Abbas,I. Abdullayev,R. Sandberg,M. Grabherr,B. Andersson,András Simon
Published 2017 in Nature Communications
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2017
- Venue
Nature Communications
- Publication date
2017-12-01
- Fields of study
Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
- No claims are published for this paper.
CONCEPTS
- No concepts are published for this paper.
REFERENCES
Showing 1-81 of 81 references · Page 1 of 1