An incredible discovery. A team of scientists from Tel Aviv University has found a species of sea squirt, a marine animal that lives in the Red Sea, which has the ability to regenerate all its organs and regain its original shape , even if it is cut into three pieces. as if we were talking about the tail of a salamander.
“It is an astonishing discovery, since it is an animal that belongs to the Chordata phylum – animals with a dorsal cord – which also includes humans,” explains Noa Shenkar, leader of the study published in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
“The ability to regenerate organs is common in the animal kingdom, and even among chordates you can find animals that regenerate organs, such as the gecko, which can grow a new tail. But not entire body systems. Here we find a chordate that p It can regenerate all of its organs even if it is separated into three parts , and each one knows exactly how to restore function to all of its missing body systems in a short period of time. “
There are hundreds of different species of sea squirts, which subsist in the planet’s seas and oceans, and are so abundant that anyone who has peaked on the seafloor under shallow water waves has probably seen them before, as these creatures camouflage themselves as clumps of rock , blending into their natural environment. But this species of sea squirt, specifically, Polycarpa mytiligera , is common on coral reefs in the Eilat region.
It is a simple organism with two openings in its body: one for entry and one for exit. “Inside its body there is a central organ that resembles a pasta strainer. The sea squirt sucks water through the entry point of the body, the strainer filters the food particles left in the body, and clean water comes out through the starting point, “the authors explain.
It’s funny but, among invertebrates, these creatures are considered the closest to humans from an evolutionary point of view.
Unlike other species of ascidians that carry out a simple regeneration to reproduce and that live in colonies, the Eilat ascidian, “is an organism with a solitary lifestyle, without the capacity for asexual reproduction , similar to humans”, clarify.
In previous studies, researchers showed that Polycarpa mytiligera was able to regenerate its digestive system and its entry and exit points in a few days, but it is the first time that such a high regenerative capacity has been detected in a cordate animal that it multiplies only by sexual reproduction.
During the experiment with the strange creature, the experts dissected samples with a method that left part of the body without a nervous center, heart and part of the digestive system. Here comes the exceptional discovery: not only did each part of the creature survive the dissection on its own, but all the organs regenerated in each of the three sections, leading to the appearance of three independent sea squirts.
“Since the dawn of mankind, humans have been fascinated by the ability to regenerate damaged or missing organs. Regeneration is a wonderful ability that we have, to a very limited extent, and we would like to understand how it works to try and apply it. within our own bodies, “concludes Shenkar.
Referencia: Tal Gordon, Arnav Kumar Upadhyay, Lucia Manni, Dorothée Huchon, Noa Shenkar. And Then There Were Three…: Extreme Regeneration Ability of the Solitary Chordate Polycarpa mytiligera. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 2021; 9 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.652466
