"Apple Snails: Looking at Regeneration with a New Pair of Eyes"
Dr. Alice Accorsi | Accorsi Lab
Bio:
Alice Accorsi is an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California, Davis. She is a developmental biologist whose research focuses on the development and regeneration of sensory organs. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as her PhD, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), where she conducted a comparative analysis of immune-neuron communication in invertebrates. She then moved to Kansas City to begin her postdoctoral training at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in the laboratory of Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado. During her postdoctoral work, she established the freshwater apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, as the first genetically tractable system for studying complete regeneration of vertebrate-like eyes. This work, published in Nature Communications, opened new avenues for investigating visual system regeneration. Her laboratory now focuses on uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the regeneration of the visual system.
Abstract:
The ability to regenerate complex sensory organs varies widely across the animal kingdom and remains poorly understood, particularly in systems capable of restoring highly organized, vertebrate-like eyes. While vertebrates exhibit limited regenerative capacity in the visual system, several invertebrates can regenerate entire sensory structures; however, these models often lack genetic tractability or fail to recapitulate key features of vertebrate eye organization. To address this gap, we established the freshwater apple snail, Pomacea canaliculata, as a novel and genetically tractable model for studying eye regeneration. Following complete amputation, P. canaliculata is able to fully regenerate its eyes.
Through integrated morphological, cellular, and molecular analyses, we define the sequential stages of regeneration, revealing dynamic tissue remodeling, proliferative activation, and the re-establishment of organized visual architecture. Together, this work provides a powerful platform for dissecting the cellular and genetic basis of eye regeneration, advancing our understanding of how complex organs can be rebuilt, and informing future strategies to promote regeneration in systems with limited intrinsic capacity, including the human visual system.
