It is not just lizards and geckos, a new study now shows that young alligators also have the ability to regrow their tails. "The ancestors of alligators and dinosaurs and birds split off around 250 million years ago," said co-senior author Kenro Kusumi, professor and director of ASU's School of Life Sciences and associate dean in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Just Grow It Back. Because of this, inserting or activating certain genes could have unforeseen, negative effects on our bodies. Alligators are an ancient lineage of reptiles, who shared a common ancestor with birds around 245 million years … Sea Squirt/Tunicate. Now, to scientists’ surprise, it turns out that much larger young alligators can regrow theirs too. "Not just lizards: Alligators can regrow their tails too, new study reveals." The ability to regrow their tails has been a documented and life-saving skill of small reptiles like lizards and geckos. Now that they’ve accomplished this monumental achievement, they can move on to the next step. Depending on the genus and species of lizards, their tails can either rapidly grow back after being dropped several times, or not grow back at all. Geckos, salamanders, and anoles can all lose their tails and regrow them. Easier said than done. Take the Axolotl, for instance – an amphibian with astounding regenerative abilities. In ancient Greek mythology, one of the most famous monsters is the Hydra – a mythical, reptilian creature with the ability to regrow any of its multiple, snakelike heads. Of course, there are the exceptions. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-lizardsalligators-regrow-tails.html "However, we were surprised to discover scar-like connective tissue in place of skeletal muscle in the regrown alligator tail. American alligators are probably as near dinosaurs as you can get in modern times, and can grow up to 14 feet in length. Amaze Lab. Lizards aren’t the only creatures born with interesting regenerative abilities. Cornered by a dangerous predator, a gecko can self-amputate its still twitching tail, creating a fleeting moment … Researchers have discovered that these ancient reptiles that date back to dinosaur days and can … Veuer’s Lenneia Batiste has more on the stunning discovery. Autotomy (from the Greek auto-"self-" and tome "severing", αὐτοτομία) or self-amputation is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader: Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. In contrast, a mammal’s tail does not contain a spinal column. Probably not. In addition, many species of lizards such as Plestiodon fasciatus, Cordylosaurus subtessellatus, Holaspis guentheri, Phelsuma barbouri, and Ameiva wetmoreihave elaborately colored blue tails which have been shown to divert pred… Scientists have discovered that young alligators have the ability to regrow their tails up to three-quarters of a foot -- about 18 percent of their total body length. This is exactly what researchers had in mind when they were attempting to isolate the genes responsible for tail regeneration in lizards. It’s not often you can lose a body part and grow it back. In addition to previous studies about the ability of lizards to regrow their tails, the discovery of such large and complex new tails in alligators provides considerable new information about regenerative process in the larger animal classification of amniotes. Lizards who regenerate their tails basically have … Scientists have just discovered that some alligators can regrow their tails. Cornered by a dangerous predator, a gecko can self-amputate its still twitching tail, creating a fleeting moment of distraction - a chance for the lizard to flee with its life. Original written by Dominique Perkins. By studying these animals, we might be able to “learn some of their tricks” and use them to improve medical science on an astronomical level. Autotomy is the scientific term that describes a lizard’s ability to regrow its tail. Well, tails, in this case. "Using next-generation technologies to sequence all the genes expressed during regeneration, we have unlocked the mystery of what genes are needed to regrow the lizard tail," said Kusumi. Lizards store fat and nutrients in the tail. Playing next. Many smaller lizards have the ability to regrow their lost limbs. Alligators are now the largest known species with known abilities to regenerate their limbs, a new study published in Scientific Reports found. Alligators can REGROW their tails by up to 9 inches after they have been bitten off – just like lizards, study finds. Scientists at Arizona State University and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries found that, like lizards, young American gators can regrow their tails up to 9 inches. Whereas a lot smaller reptiles comparable to lizards are in a position to regenerate their tails, the query of whether or not the a lot bigger alligator is ready to regrow their huge tails has not been nicely studied. Arizona State University. Not just lizards, but alligators too can regrow their tails Washington [US], November 23 (ANI): A team of researchers from Arizona State University and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has found that young alligators have the ability to regrow their tails up to three-quarters of a foot, or 18 per cent of their total body length. Many kinds of small reptiles, such as lizards, are known to regrow their tails. Aliens in our galaxy may have perished due to too much progress, study suggests Not just lizards: Alligators can regrow their tails too, new study reveals. Small reptiles like lizards and geckos are known for their extraordinary ability to regrow their tails, a potentially lifesaving skill in the wild. Researchers from the US studied young alligators in the wild in Louisiana The researchers hope their findings will help lead to discoveries of new therapeutic approaches to repairing injuries and treating diseases such as arthritis. As it turns out, this seemingly magical power is based (at least partly) in scientific truth. These genes were all active inside the lizard’s tail, and scientists were surprised by the complexity of the process. The former types of lizards include green iguanas and bearded dragons, while crested geckos are examples to the latter. Most, but not all, lizards have the ability to "drop" their tails. The research team included Kusumi, Xu, Wilson-Rawls and Alan Rawls from ASU's School of Life Sciences; Ruth Elsey from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries; and Fisher from the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. Arizona State University. Share on Twitter. Now, a study has found that American alligator ( Alligator mississippiensis ) can indeed re-grow their lost tails. When researchers examined the 23,000 genes in samples of tails from green anole lizards, they discovered that about 326 of those are involved in regeneration. Agamid lizards often don't share that trait). Each of these genes was located at a specific part of the tail, and each of them kicked on during regeneration. ScienceDaily. Is curing your stiff joints worth taking a risk with gene therapy? In many species the detached tail will continue to wriggle, creating a deceptive sense of continued struggle, and distracting the predator's attention from the fleeing prey animal. Within the lizard’s genes themselves was the instructions for regeneration. Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated. However, with a potential body length of 14 feet, little was known about whether alligators could possibly regrow their massive tails. Researchers are also suggesting this genetic breakthrough could lead to a treatment for arthritis. When chased by predators, they detach their tails to confuse predators and give them a few vital seconds to make their getaway. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners. Materials provided by Arizona State University. Lizards store fat and nutrients in the tail. Salamanders, which are amphibians, CAN regrow lost limbs, but there are no reptiles which can do this. Because gene therapy is still somewhat controversial, it’s unlikely that we’ll see real treatments as a result of this research anytime soon. Cindy Xu, Joanna Palade, Rebecca E. Fisher, Cameron I. Smith, Andrew R. Clark, Samuel Sampson, Russell Bourgeois, Alan Rawls, Ruth M. Elsey, Jeanne Wilson-Rawls, Kenro Kusumi. Typically, it takes lizards about two months before they have a new, fully functioning tail. Though, unlike other lizards, they are not known to regenerate their tails. The lizard can always regrow a tail, but they are not in good health after losing it. Some lizards, like bearded dragons, monitors and chameleons … While the interdisciplinary team has previous studied the ability of lizards to regenerate their tails, this finding of regrowth of complex new tails in the alligator gives further information about the process in amniotes. When they detach their tails, they use up critical energy that must be used to find more food to replace the nutrients it lost. Alligators are now the largest known species with known abilities to regenerate their limbs, a new study published in Scientific Reports found. There are many risks involved with this process, and we still don’t fully understand the human genome (although we like to think we do). Typically, it takes lizards about two months before they have a new, fully functioning tail. Although humans have been aware of this phenomenon for countless years, scientific research has yet to figure out how these creatures pull it off…until now. ScienceDaily, 25 November 2020. We already thought it was amazing that lizards could regrow their tail if they lost it, but now it turns out they can also grow extra ones too. Now, to scientists’ surprise, it turns out that much larger young alligators can regrow theirs too. Have any problems using the site? Frankly, I don’t think its ever been tested. While skinks can do it in as little as six months, a related crocodilian, the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) takes up to 18 months to reform their tails. This research was funded by support from The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU. 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