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Riquelme-Guzmán C, Sandoval-Guzmán T. The salamander limb: a perfect model to understand imperfect integration during skeletal regeneration. Biol Open 2024; 13:bio060152. [PMID: 38319134 PMCID: PMC10868587 DOI: 10.1242/bio.060152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Limb regeneration in salamanders is achieved by a complex coordination of various biological processes and requires the proper integration of new tissue with old. Among the tissues found inside the limb, the skeleton is the most prominent component, which serves as a scaffold and provides support for locomotion in the animal. Throughout the years, researchers have studied the regeneration of the appendicular skeleton in salamanders both after limb amputation and as a result of fracture healing. The final outcome has been widely seen as a faithful re-establishment of the skeletal elements, characterised by a seamless integration into the mature tissue. The process of skeletal integration, however, is not well understood, and several works have recently provided evidence of commonly occurring flawed regenerates. In this Review, we take the reader on a journey through the course of bone formation and regeneration in salamanders, laying down a foundation for critically examining the mechanisms behind skeletal integration. Integration is a phenomenon that could be influenced at various steps of regeneration, and hence, we assess the current knowledge in the field and discuss how early events, such as tissue histolysis and patterning, influence the faithful regeneration of the appendicular skeleton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilo Riquelme-Guzmán
- Department of Internal Medicine 3, Center for Healthy Aging, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Tatiana Sandoval-Guzmán
- Department of Internal Medicine 3, Center for Healthy Aging, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden of Helmholtz Centre Munich, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
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2
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Kaucka M, Joven Araus A, Tesarova M, Currie JD, Boström J, Kavkova M, Petersen J, Yao Z, Bouchnita A, Hellander A, Zikmund T, Elewa A, Newton PT, Fei JF, Chagin AS, Fried K, Tanaka EM, Kaiser J, Simon A, Adameyko I. Altered developmental programs and oriented cell divisions lead to bulky bones during salamander limb regeneration. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6949. [PMID: 36376278 PMCID: PMC9663504 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34266-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
There are major differences in duration and scale at which limb development and regeneration proceed, raising the question to what extent regeneration is a recapitulation of development. We address this by analyzing skeletal elements using a combination of micro-CT imaging, molecular profiling and clonal cell tracing. We find that, in contrast to development, regenerative skeletal growth is accomplished based entirely on cartilage expansion prior to ossification, not limiting the transversal cartilage expansion and resulting in bulkier skeletal parts. The oriented extension of salamander cartilage and bone appear similar to the development of basicranial synchondroses in mammals, as we found no evidence for cartilage stem cell niches or growth plate-like structures during neither development nor regeneration. Both regenerative and developmental ossification in salamanders start from the cortical bone and proceeds inwards, showing the diversity of schemes for the synchrony of cortical and endochondral ossification among vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marketa Kaucka
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, 24306, Germany
| | - Alberto Joven Araus
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedicum, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden
| | - Marketa Tesarova
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Joshua D Currie
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Johan Boström
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
| | - Michaela Kavkova
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Julian Petersen
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria
- Department of Orthodontics, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Zeyu Yao
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedicum, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden
| | - Anass Bouchnita
- Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79902, USA
| | - Andreas Hellander
- Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tomas Zikmund
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Ahmed Elewa
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedicum, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Phillip T Newton
- Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden
| | - Ji-Feng Fei
- The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna, 1030, Austria
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Andrei S Chagin
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden
- Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, 41346, Sweden
| | - Kaj Fried
- Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicum, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden
| | - Elly M Tanaka
- The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna, 1030, Austria
| | - Jozef Kaiser
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno, 61200, Czech Republic
| | - András Simon
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedicum, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden.
| | - Igor Adameyko
- Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, 1090, Austria.
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17165, Sweden.
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García-Lepe UO, Torres-Dimas E, Espinal-Centeno A, Cruz-Ramírez A, Bermúdez-Cruz RM. Evidence of requirement for homologous-mediated DNA repair during Ambystoma mexicanum limb regeneration. Dev Dyn 2022; 251:1035-1053. [PMID: 35040539 DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Limb regeneration in the axolotl is achieved by epimorphosis, thus depending on the blastema formation, a mass of progenitor cells capable of proliferating and differentiating to recover all lost structures functionally. During regeneration, the blastema cells accelerate the cell cycle and duplicate its genome, which is inherently difficult to replicate because of its length and composition, thus being prone to suffer double-strand breaks. RESULTS We identified and characterized two remarkable components of the homologous recombination repair pathway (Amex.RAD51 and Amex.MRE11), which were heterologously expressed, biochemically characterized, and inhibited by specific chemicals. These same inhibitors were applied at different time points after amputation to study their effects during limb regeneration. We observed an increase in cellular senescent accompanied by a slight delay in regeneration at 28 days post-amputation regenerated tissues; moreover, inhibitors caused a rise in the double-strand break signaling as a response to the inhibition of the repair mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS We confirmed the participation and importance of homologous recombination during limb regeneration. Where the chemical inhibition induces double-strand breaks that lead to DNA damage associated senescence, or in an alternatively way, this damage could be possibly repaired by a different DNA repair pathway, permitting proper regeneration and avoiding senescence. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulises Omar García-Lepe
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Department, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del IPN Mexico city, Mexico
| | - Esteban Torres-Dimas
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Department, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del IPN Mexico city, Mexico
| | - Annie Espinal-Centeno
- Molecular and Developmental Complexity Group, Unidad de Genómica Avanzada (LANGEBIO), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Guanajuato, Mexico
| | - Alfredo Cruz-Ramírez
- Molecular and Developmental Complexity Group, Unidad de Genómica Avanzada (LANGEBIO), Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Guanajuato, Mexico
| | - Rosa María Bermúdez-Cruz
- Genetics and Molecular Biology Department, Centro de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados del IPN Mexico city, Mexico
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Bothe V, Schneider I, Fröbisch NB. A Morphological and Histological Investigation of Imperfect Lungfish Fin Regeneration. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.784828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Regeneration, the replacement of body parts in a living animal, has excited scientists for centuries and our knowledge of vertebrate appendage regeneration has increased significantly over the past decades. While the ability of amniotes to regenerate body parts is very limited, members of other vertebrate clades have been shown to have rather high regenerative capacities. Among tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates), only salamanders show unparalleled capacities of epimorphic tissue regeneration including replacement of organ and body parts in an apparently perfect fashion. The closest living relatives of Tetrapoda, the lungfish, show regenerative abilities that are comparable to those of salamanders and recent studies suggest that these high regenerative capacities may indeed be ancestral for bony fish (osteichthyans) including tetrapods. While great progress has been made in recent years in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms deployed during appendage regeneration, comparatively few studies have investigated gross morphological and histological features of regenerated fins and limbs. Likewise, rather little is known about how fin regeneration compares morphologically to salamander limb regeneration. In this study, we investigated the morphology and histology of regenerated fins in all three modern lungfish families. Data from histological serial sections, 3D reconstructions, and x-ray microtomography scans were analyzed to assess morphological features, quality and pathologies in lungfish fin regenerates. We found several anomalies resulting from imperfect regeneration in regenerated fins in all investigated lungfish species, including fusion of skeletal elements, additional or fewer elements, and distal branching. The similarity of patterns in regeneration abnormalities compared to salamander limb regeneration lends further support to the hypothesis that high regenerative capacities are plesiomorphic for sarcopterygians.
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Abstract
Species that can regrow their lost appendages have been studied with the ultimate aim of developing methods to enable human limb regeneration. These examinations highlight that appendage regeneration progresses through shared tissue stages and gene activities, leading to the assumption that appendage regeneration paradigms (e.g. tails and limbs) are the same or similar. However, recent research suggests these paradigms operate differently at the cellular level, despite sharing tissue descriptions and gene expressions. Here, collecting the findings from disparate studies, I argue appendage regeneration is context dependent at the cellular level; nonetheless, it requires (i) signalling centres, (ii) stem/progenitor cell types and (iii) a regeneration-permissive environment, and these three common cellular principles could be more suitable for cross-species/paradigm/age comparisons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Aztekin
- School of Life Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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Dwaraka VB, Voss SR. Towards comparative analyses of salamander limb regeneration. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2021; 336:129-144. [PMID: 31584252 PMCID: PMC8908358 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Revised: 08/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Among tetrapods, only salamanders can regenerate their limbs and tails throughout life. This amazing regenerative ability has attracted the attention of scientists for hundreds of years. Now that large, salamander genomes are beginning to be sequenced for the first time, omics tools and approaches can be used to integrate new perspectives into the study of tissue regeneration. Here we argue the need to move beyond the primary salamander models to investigate regeneration in other species. Salamanders at first glance come across as a phylogenetically conservative group that has not diverged greatly from their ancestors. While salamanders do present ancestral characteristics of basal tetrapods, including the ability to regenerate limbs, data from fossils and data from studies that have tested for species differences suggest there may be considerable variation in how salamanders develop and regenerate their limbs. We review the case for expanded studies of salamander tissue regeneration and identify questions and approaches that are most likely to reveal commonalities and differences in regeneration among species. We also address challenges that confront such an initiative, some of which are regulatory and not scientific. The time is right to gain evolutionary perspective about mechanisms of tissue regeneration from comparative studies of salamander species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varun B. Dwaraka
- Department of Neuroscience, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, and Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
| | - S. Randal Voss
- Department of Neuroscience, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, and Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
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Bothe V, Mahlow K, Fröbisch NB. A histological study of normal and pathological limb regeneration in the Mexican axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2020; 336:116-128. [PMID: 32394624 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Salamanders show unparalleled capacities of tissue regeneration amongst tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates), being able to repair and renew lost or damage body parts, such as tails, jaws, and limbs in a seemingly perfect fashion. Despite countless studies on axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) regeneration, only a few studies have thus far compared gross morphological and histological features of the original and regenerated limb skeleton. Therein, most studies have focused on nerves or muscles, while even fewer have provided detailed information about bones and cartilage. This study compares skeletal tissue structures of original and regenerated limbs with respect to tissue level histology. Histological serial sections of 55 axolotl larvae were generated, including 29 limbs that were severed by conspecifics, and 26 that were subject to targeted amputations. Amputations were executed in several larval stages (48, 52, and 53) and at different limb positions (humeral midshaft, above the mesopod). In addition, 3D reconstructions were prepared based on X-ray microtomography scans. The results demonstrate that regenerated forelimbs show a diversity of limb and digit abnormalities as a result of imperfect regeneration. Furthermore, abnormalities were more severe and more frequent in regenerated forelimbs caused by natural bites as compared with regenerated forelimbs after amputation. The results indicate that abnormalities occur frequently after regeneration in larval axolotls contradicting the notion of regeneration generally resulting in perfect limbs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivien Bothe
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kristin Mahlow
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nadia B Fröbisch
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany.,Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Dwaraka VB, Smith JJ, Woodcock MR, Voss SR. Comparative transcriptomics of limb regeneration: Identification of conserved expression changes among three species of Ambystoma. Genomics 2018; 111:1216-1225. [PMID: 30092345 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Transcriptome studies are revealing the complex gene expression basis of limb regeneration in the primary salamander model - Ambystoma mexicanum (axolotl). To better understand this complexity, there is need to extend analyses to additional salamander species. Using microarray and RNA-Seq, we performed a comparative transcriptomic study using A. mexicanum and two other ambystomatid salamanders: A. andersoni, and A. maculatum. Salamanders were administered forelimb amputations and RNA was isolated and analyzed to identify 405 non-redundant genes that were commonly, differentially expressed 24 h post amputation. Many of the upregulated genes are predicted to function in wound healing and developmental processes, while many of the downregulated genes are typically expressed in muscle. The conserved transcriptional changes identified in this study provide a high-confidence dataset for identifying factors that simultaneous orchestrate wound healing and regeneration processes in response to injury, and more generally for identifying genes that are essential for salamander limb regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varun B Dwaraka
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States; Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, United States.
| | - Jeramiah J Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States
| | - M Ryan Woodcock
- Department of Biology, Keene State College, Keene, NH 03431, United States
| | - S Randal Voss
- Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Department of Neuroscience, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, United States; Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, United States
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Bryant DM, Sousounis K, Payzin-Dogru D, Bryant S, Sandoval AGW, Martinez Fernandez J, Mariano R, Oshiro R, Wong AY, Leigh ND, Johnson K, Whited JL. Identification of regenerative roadblocks via repeat deployment of limb regeneration in axolotls. NPJ Regen Med 2017; 2:30. [PMID: 29302364 PMCID: PMC5677943 DOI: 10.1038/s41536-017-0034-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Revised: 09/22/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Axolotl salamanders are powerful models for understanding how regeneration of complex body parts can be achieved, whereas mammals are severely limited in this ability. Factors that promote normal axolotl regeneration can be examined in mammals to determine if they exhibit altered activity in this context. Furthermore, factors prohibiting axolotl regeneration can offer key insight into the mechanisms present in regeneration-incompetent species. We sought to determine if we could experimentally compromise the axolotl's ability to regenerate limbs and, if so, discover the molecular changes that might underlie their inability to regenerate. We found that repeated limb amputation severely compromised axolotls' ability to initiate limb regeneration. Using RNA-seq, we observed that a majority of differentially expressed transcripts were hyperactivated in limbs compromised by repeated amputation, suggesting that mis-regulation of these genes antagonizes regeneration. To confirm our findings, we additionally assayed the role of amphiregulin, an EGF-like ligand, which is aberrantly upregulated in compromised animals. During normal limb regeneration, amphiregulin is expressed by the early wound epidermis, and mis-expressing this factor lead to thickened wound epithelium, delayed initiation of regeneration, and severe regenerative defects. Collectively, our results suggest that repeatedly amputated limbs may undergo a persistent wound healing response, which interferes with their ability to initiate the regenerative program. These findings have important implications for human regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald M Bryant
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Konstantinos Sousounis
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA.,The Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave., Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155 USA
| | - Duygu Payzin-Dogru
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Sevara Bryant
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Aaron Gabriel W Sandoval
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Jose Martinez Fernandez
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Rachelle Mariano
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Rachel Oshiro
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Alan Y Wong
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Nicholas D Leigh
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Kimberly Johnson
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Jessica L Whited
- Harvard Medical School, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 60 Fenwood Rd., 7016D, Boston, MA 02115 USA.,The Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave., Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155 USA
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Soto-Rojas C, Suazo-Ortuño I, Montoya Laos JA, Alvarado-Díaz J. Habitat quality affects the incidence of morphological abnormalities in the endangered salamander Ambystoma ordinarium. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183573. [PMID: 28846723 PMCID: PMC5593498 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Identification of early warning signals previous to the occurrence of population decline or extinction is a major challenge for the conservation of animal species. Prevalence of morphological abnormalities in a population can be one of these signals. We registered morphological abnormalities in the salamander Ambystoma ordinarium. We also evaluated the relation between habitat quality and the prevalence of abnormalities in this species. We used scores from rapid bioassessment protocols (RBPs) to assess the habitat quality of streams inhabited by A. ordinarium. A preliminary survey indicated that of 29 streams where this species has been historically registered, 13 might have few or no A. ordinarium. The association between habitat quality and the incidence of morphological abnormalities was evaluated in these 16 streams. Of 502 sampled individuals, 224 (44.62%) had at least one body abnormality. Of the 224 individuals with body abnormalities, 84 (37.5%) presented more than one abnormality. Of a total of 5,522 evaluated morphological characters, 344 (6.74%) were abnormal. Partial loss of gills and missing digits were the most frequent abnormalities. Results of a binomial logistic regression indicated that the probability of a character of an individual to be abnormal was significantly associated with habitat quality; as the levels of the quality of the habitat increased, the prevalence of morphological abnormalities decreased. These results suggest that RBPs are a quick and useful method for assessing the habitat quality of streams inhabited by A. ordinarium. Given that RBPs provide rapid and cost-effective assessments of the ecological health of aquatic ecosystems, it will be important to test if the RBPs protocols can be used to rapidly assess habitat quality for other species of stream amphibians. The negative association between habitat quality and the prevalence of morpohological abnormalities that we found indicates that habitat condition plays an important role in the high number of abnormalities registered in A. ordinarium. Therefore, our results suggest that one of the several negative effects of habitat degradation on amphibians is an increase in the frequency of morphological abnormalities with marked consequences for the survival and general fitness of aquatic amphibians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Soto-Rojas
- Instituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Col. Nueva Esperanza, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Ireri Suazo-Ortuño
- Instituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Col. Nueva Esperanza, Morelia, Michoacán, México
- * E-mail:
| | - José Arturo Montoya Laos
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Universidad de Sonora, Col. Centro, C.P., Hermosillo, Sonora, México
| | - Javier Alvarado-Díaz
- Instituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Col. Nueva Esperanza, Morelia, Michoacán, México
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12
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Nogueira AF, Costa CM, Lorena J, Moreira RN, Frota-Lima GN, Furtado C, Robinson M, Amemiya CT, Darnet S, Schneider I. Tetrapod limb and sarcopterygian fin regeneration share a core genetic programme. Nat Commun 2016; 7:13364. [PMID: 27804976 PMCID: PMC5097137 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Salamanders are the only living tetrapods capable of fully regenerating limbs. The discovery of salamander lineage-specific genes (LSGs) expressed during limb regeneration suggests that this capacity is a salamander novelty. Conversely, recent paleontological evidence supports a deeper evolutionary origin, before the occurrence of salamanders in the fossil record. Here we show that lungfishes, the sister group of tetrapods, regenerate their fins through morphological steps equivalent to those seen in salamanders. Lungfish de novo transcriptome assembly and differential gene expression analysis reveal notable parallels between lungfish and salamander appendage regeneration, including strong downregulation of muscle proteins and upregulation of oncogenes, developmental genes and lungfish LSGs. MARCKS-like protein (MLP), recently discovered as a regeneration-initiating molecule in salamander, is likewise upregulated during early stages of lungfish fin regeneration. Taken together, our results lend strong support for the hypothesis that tetrapods inherited a bona fide limb regeneration programme concomitant with the fin-to-limb transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Acacio F Nogueira
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Carinne M Costa
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Jamily Lorena
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo N Moreira
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Gabriela N Frota-Lima
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Carolina Furtado
- Unidade Genômica, Programa de Genética, Instituto Nacional do Câncer, Rio de Janeiro 20230-240, Brazil
| | - Mark Robinson
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, 1201 Ninth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA
| | - Chris T Amemiya
- Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, 1201 Ninth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA.,Department of Biology, University of Washington 106 Kincaid, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Sylvain Darnet
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Igor Schneider
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, Belém 66075-110, Brazil
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