Memory of fate and position, colorized.
Many of our ideas about cellular memory of fate and position come from regeneration studies in salamanders. A popular notion is that cells of the blastema transdifferentiate to different fates during limb regeneration. In a recent issue of Nature, Tanaka and colleagues challenge this notion. Using transplant experiments with GFP-expressing axolotl, they show vividly which cells of the blastema remember their fate and position of origin.
Johnson
Stephen L
SL
Department of Genetics, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. sjohnson@genetics.wustl.edu
D000557:Ambystoma / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D019070:Cell Lineage; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D005121:Extremities / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins