Release date: 2016-08-11


The cockroach can regenerate the legs, tail, and even the spinal cord. Scientists have discovered that cockroaches and two other organisms have a gene regulatory mechanism that regenerates limb tissue, suggesting that their ability to regenerate stems from an ancient ancestor species.

According to the British Daily Mail, scientists have now discovered a set of genetic switches that allow animals such as baboons to regenerate limbs and body tissues, which they believe may reveal the secrets of lost limb regeneration.

Earthworms are primitive amphibians that live in Mexico and can regenerate their tails, legs, and even the spinal cord. Scientists have discovered that it shares a genetic mechanism with two other organisms, both of which also have the ability to regenerate tissue. They are zebrafish and multi-fin fish.

Studies have shown that these three organisms may inherit the regenerative capacity of a common ancestor species 420 million years ago, and humans may inherit some of their genes, but these genes are very active in humans. This discovery is expected to improve human wound healing and even regenerate limb tissue. Dr. Yin Water, a biologist at the MDI Biology Laboratory in the United States, said: "Human limb regeneration sounds a bit like a science fiction story, but it is likely to become a reality."

In fact, we identified the genetic information of three species of limb regenerative organisms with different types of appendages, indicating that there is a common “genetic instruction” in nature that can regulate the regenerative capacity of all animals, including humans. Currently, the researchers published the study in the recently published Journal of the Public Library of Science • Comprehensive.

The researchers studied the formation of germ cells in these three organisms. The germ cells are the first step in analyzing the ability of limb regeneration. Scientists have found that there is a common genome in these three organisms, all of which are called "microRNAs." Control of the gene regulatory network.

MicroRNAs have a short sequence of genetic material and play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. The team identified 10 microRNAs that were important for the regeneration of scorpionfish, zebrafish, and multi-fin fish, with five microRNAs turned on during limb regeneration and the other five turned off.

Benjamin King, research director and MDI Biolab, said: "We don't expect the gene expressions of these three organisms to differ significantly, but we find them with striking similarities."

The researchers pointed out that they also found that four kinds of RNA fragments exist in the human body. At present, they hope to further reveal whether they can activate the limb regeneration ability of humans and other organisms. Drugs can be used to activate this regeneration mechanism, which helps accelerate the healing and replacement of damaged tissues. They use similar genetic mechanisms. At the same time, this can also be used to regenerate damaged nerve tissue of the amputation, thereby more effectively integrating with the prosthesis. But eventually researchers hope to reveal whether the genetic mechanism can regenerate human limbs, although scientists have argued that human limb regeneration techniques may not appear until decades later.

Source: Tencent Science

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