Rag1-knockout newts lacking adaptive immunity regenerate larval limbs, tails and adult limbs without overt gross differences from controls; newt blastema tolerates allografts, and axolotl regenerating limbs show immunosuppressive transcriptional shifts.

bioRxiv · Sep 8, 2026 · PreprintImmunology✦ In-depth digest

Sequencing and chromosome-scale assembly of the giant Pleurodeles waltl genome

Tom Brown, Ketan Mishra, Ahmed Elewa, Svetlana Iu. Iarovenko, Elaiyaraja Subramanian, Alberto Joven, Andreas Petzold, Bastian Fromm, Marc R. Friedländer, Lennart Rikk, Miyuki Suzuki, Kenichi Suzuki, Toshinori Hayashi, Atsushi Toyoda, Catarina R. Oliveira, , András Simon

The paper presents the chromosome-scale assembly of the giant Pleurodeles waltl genome, revealing insights into its expansion and regeneration-related genes.

Cell Genomics · Jan 27, 2025Peer-reviewedDevelopmental Biology

Myogenic dedifferentiation involves a p53-dependent reorganization of PLK4 localization during centrosome regeneration

Elaiyaraja Subramanian, Gonçalo Brito, Anoop Kumar, Matthew Kirkham, András Simon

The paper investigates centrosome regeneration during myogenic dedifferentiation, showing p53 inhibition is required and PLK4 localization changes are key.

bioRxiv · Jun 17, 2024 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

Macrophages modulate fibrosis during newt lens regeneration

Georgios Tsissios, Anthony Sallese, J. Raúl Pérez-Estrada, Jared A. Tangeman, Weihao Chen, Byran J. Smucker, Sophia C. Ratvasky, Erika Grajales‐Esquivel, Arielle Martinez, Kimberly J. Visser, Alberto Joven, Hui Wang, András Simon, Maximina Hee Yun, Katia Del Rio‐Tsonis

This study shows that macrophages are essential for lens regeneration in newts by reducing fibrosis, modulating inflammation, and balancing cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Stem Cell Research & Therapy · May 14, 2024Peer-reviewedDevelopmental Biology

Accurate genotype-based demultiplexing of single cell RNA sequencing samples from non-human animals

Joseph F. Cardiello, Alberto Joven, Sarantis Giatrellis, Clément Helsens, András Simon, Nicholas D. Leigh

This study validates SNP-based demultiplexing for pooled scRNA-seq data across multiple non-human species, showing accurate demultiplexing with only transcriptome data and no prior genetic reference.

Life Science Alliance · May 17, 2023Peer-reviewedBioinformatics

Cell type profiling in salamanders identifies innovations in vertebrate forebrain evolution

Jamie Woych, Alonso Ortega Gurrola, Astrid Deryckere, Eliza C.B. Jaeger, Elias Gumnit, Gianluca Merello, Jiacheng Gu, Alberto Joven, Nicholas D. Leigh, Maximina Hee Yun, András Simon, Maria Antonietta Tosches

This study identifies cell type innovations in salamander forebrain evolution, showing similarities to both sauropsid DVR and mammalian neocortex.

Science · Sep 1, 2022Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Telomerase-independent maintenance of telomere length in a vertebrate

Qinghao Yu, Phillip B. Gates, Samuel Rogers, Ivan Mikičić, Ahmed Elewa, Florian Salomon, Martina Lachnit, Antonio Caldarelli, Neftali Flores Rodriguez, Anthony J. Cesare, András Simon, Maximina Hee Yun

The paper shows that the newt Pleurodeles waltl maintains telomeres without telomerase, using ALT for whole-organism telomere length preservation.

bioRxiv · Mar 25, 2022 · PreprintMolecular Biology

Tig1 regulates proximo-distal identity during salamander limb regeneration

Catarina R. Oliveira, Dunja Knapp, Ahmed Elewa, Tobias Gerber, Sandra Guadalupe Gonzalez Malagon, Phillip B. Gates, Hannah Walters, Andreas Petzold, Hernán Arce, Rodrigo C. Cordoba, Elaiyaraja Subramanian, Osvaldo Chara, Elly Margaret Tanaka, András Simon, Maximina Hee Yun

The paper identifies Tig1 as a regulator of proximo-distal identity during salamander limb regeneration through single-cell RNAseq analysis.

Nature Communications · Mar 3, 2022Peer-reviewedDevelopmental Biology