What is it about?
Land slugs are intriguing and slimy creatures that inhabit gardens and moist forests. They have a remarkable ability to repair various portions of their bodies restoring their normal anatomy. However, nothing is understood about how these creatures' organs can do such unusual feats. As a critical step in studying regeneration in slugs, we sequenced and analyzed the genome of the marsh slug Deroceras laeve, revealing some surprising traits that make them unique and fascinating animals to investigate.
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Why is it important?
Knowing the genome of this slug species to the level of complete chromosomes will allow us to study the mechanisms involved in rebuilding its tissues and organs and explain why regeneration is so limited in humans. With the genome as a basic tool, we are now examining the gene control of the process of restoring lost body parts. By studying the genes that are activated and silenced during regeneration and how they regulate each other’s activity, we will understand why these creatures have such a high regeneration ability.
Perspectives
Developing a genome for this slug collected in our backyard has been a highly stimulating challenge involving students and colleagues from Mexico, the United States, and the Czech Republic. Our diversified research team's knowledge in several areas enabled us to complete a complex assignment that could only be accomplished with everyone's active participation. We hope that anyone interested in studying this species for regeneration or other biological objectives will find this reference tool helpful. With this, we maintain our resolve to use this slug that can be found all over the world as a tool to learn more about the interesting process of regeneration.
Alfredo Varela-Echavarria
Instituto de Neurobiología, UNAM
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The chromosome-level genome assembly of the slug Deroceras laeve facilitates its use as a comparative model of regeneration, G3 Genes Genomes Genetics, July 2025, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/g3journal/jkaf164.
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