What is known about the axolotl: an amphibian that can repair the body, even the brain (photo)

The Mexican axolotl salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum) is found only in two lakes and is considered an endangered species due to environmental pollution and invasive predators that are leading to a decline in its population.

The axolotl is naturally found in Lakes Sochimilco and Chalco, located near Mexico City in Mexico. Scientists note that most salamanders undergo a metamorphosis from a fully aquatic larval form to predominantly terrestrial adult forms.

The axolotl, however, is one species of salamander in which this does not occur. Instead, this amphibian retains all of its larval characteristics, such as external gills and a fin along its back. In this way, it remains a fully aquatic creature, while still being able to reproduce (a phenomenon known as pedomorphosis, or neoteny).

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The amphibian is able to regenerate almost any part of its body, including limbs, eyes, and even parts of the brain, which makes it interesting for scientists studying regenerative biology.

In a new article for the leading scientific journal Science, scientists have described the molecular mechanisms of regeneration of the salamander, namely its damaged brain. The biologists believed that the axolotl was unable to fully recreate the structure of the lost brain tissue.

Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland) and the Institute of Molecular Pathology (Austria), who study tissue regeneration at the molecular level, investigated whether the axolotl could re-create all the different cell types that were in the remote part of its brain - whether the new organ would be structurally complete.

The biologists found out which genes are active in progenitor cells when they turn into neurons. It turned out that this differentiation occurs through the stage of special intermediate cells, which were not previously known. After removing a part of the axolotl's terminal brain, scientists observed its regeneration for 12 weeks and noted the emergence of new cell populations.

It turned out that the axolotl does indeed successfully and fully restore the tissues of the damaged and even partially lost brain - for this purpose, the amphibian has a complex and multi-stage regulation of the brain regeneration process.

Earlier, scientists explained why turtles with flocks of butterflies perched on their heads can be seen in the Amazon.

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