Project 6: Molecular profiling and perturbation of the limb blastema in newts

Limb regeneration in newts represents a unique example for how a complex body part can be rebuilt in vertebrates. Regeneration starts by rapid wound healing, followed by formation of a mesenchymal growth zone, called the blastema from which the new appendage originates. Blastema cells are generated from local stump tissues during which process several cell types undergo reprogramming. The focus of the project is to understand the molecular underpinnings of such reprogramming events with particular focus on the role of a group of miRNAs that bear the characteristic embryonic stem cell-specific cell cycle regulating seed and are regulated during limb regeneration. Of particular interest is whether and how these miRNAs regulate the dedifferentiation of terminally differentiated cells, which is a distinctive feature of newt limb regeneration.