Table 1.
Model systems and tools for regeneration studies.
| Hydra | Planarians | Zebrafish | Xenopus | Axolotl | Newt | Mouse | Drosophila | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key tissues assessed in regeneration studies |
Whole animal |
Whole animal |
Fins | Tadpole tail |
Tail | Limbs | Blood | Midgut |
| Germ cells | Heart | Tadpole limbs |
Limbs | Lens | Skeletal muscle |
Germ cells | ||
| Nervous system |
Retina | Retina | Spinal cord | Heart | Liver | |||
| Spinal cord | Tail | Pancreas | ||||||
| Hair cells | Spinal cord |
Peripheral nerve |
||||||
| Retina | Skin | |||||||
| Gut epithelium | ||||||||
| Germ cells | ||||||||
| Tools: | ||||||||
| Genome sequence finished or ongoing |
√ | √ | √ | √ | - | - | √ | √ |
| Knockout by homologous recombination |
- | - | - | - | - | - | √ | √ |
| RNAi | √ | √ | - | - | - | - | √ | √ |
| Transgenesis | √ | - | √ | √ | √ | - | √ | √ |
| Recombinase driven lineage tracing |
- | - | √ | - | - | - | √ | √ |
| Cell transplantation or tissue grafting |
√ | √ | - | √ | √ | √ | √ | - |
| Forward genetics | - | - | √ | - | - | - | √ | √ |
| Potential for real-time imaging of regeneration |
√ | √ | √ (larvae) | - | - | - | - | √ |
| Stage- or age-dependent regenerative capacity |
- | - | - | √ | - | - | √ | - |