February 2018

Axolotl specimen (Image courtesy IMP)

An article published in the journal “Nature” describes a research on the genome of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a species of salamander that can regenerate its limbs but also a severed spinal cord and retinal tissue. A team of researchers sequenced this animal’s DNA to try to discover the secrets of its regeneration. This is the largest genome sequenced so far with its 32 billion bases.