Axolotl (Ambystoma Mexicanum)

Axolotl is an animal which belongs to the group of tiger salamanders of vertebrates. Homeland for these species is Mexico, and they are in danger of extinction. Salamanders are amphibians; In other words, they spend part of their lives on land and another one in water. So, they undergo metamorphosis. Axolotl, does not undergo metamorphosis under normal conditions. Because the thyroid hormone, which must be produced in large quantities during metamorphosis, will never reach the required level in this organism. However, they can undergo metamorphosis with external thyroid hormone application. With the application of thyroid hormone, metamorphosis is completed in approximately 2-3 months. At the end of this process, the axolotl loses gills and begins to breathe through the lungs. In addition, its skin thickens, its tail becomes thinner and it adapts to living on land.

Regeneration is the functional regeneration of lost or damaged tissues or organs. Axolotl is one of the most regenerative organisms in the vertebrates. In the evolutionary process, some vertebrate creatures have greatly lost the ability to regenerate, while others have a high regeneration ability. Due to this unique ability, the axolotl is used as a model organism in regenerative biology. It can regenerate the losses in internal organs such as the arm, heart and lung, and repairs the spinal cord and brain damage. The formation of regeneration-specific blastema tissue is one of the most important events for this damage repair process. This tissue, which is formed by undifferentiated cells, then proliferates and differentiates to form the new limb. The process of axolotl limb regeneration continues to be investigated in terms of multiple factors such as genetics, epigenetics, and microbiome. Studies in this area are promising in terms of a solution to tissue organ loss.