Largest amphibian genome

The largest genome (a species' total genetic material) currently mapped for any species of amphibian is that of the axolotl Ambystoma mexicanum. Also known as the Mexican salamander, this famously neotenic species (able to reproduce while still in the larval state, it frequently never matures) has a genome that contains 32 billion base pairs (the basic units or building blocks of DNA), which is at least 10 times as many as present in the human genome. This groundbreaking work was conducted by a research team led by scientists in Vienna, Dresden, and Heidelberg, and was published by the scientific journal Nature in January 2018.

The axolotl is well known for its remarkable ability to regenerate missing limbs, as well as organs, even brain tissue, and was first studied in this capacity back in the 19th century. In a recent interview concerning their work, one of this latest study's researchers, Dr Sergej Nowoshilow, was quoted as saying: "We now have the map in our hands to investigate how complicated structures such as legs can be re-grown. This is a turning point for the community of scientists working with axolotl, a real milestone in a research adventure that started more than 150 years ago”.