Scientists Discover Snail That Can Regrow Its Entire Eye Within a Month

Scientists studying a South American freshwater snail have uncovered an unusual biological ability: the animal can completely regenerate a complex, camera-type eye after it is removed. The golden apple snail, scientifically known as Pomacea canaliculata, can rebuild its eye, including the eye bulb and stalk, in roughly a month.

The discovery, detailed in a study published in the journal Nature Communications, could provide researchers with valuable insights into how complex organs regenerate. The snail’s eye is particularly interesting because its basic structure resembles the camera-type eyes found in vertebrates, including humans. It contains a closed chamber, a transparent cornea, a lens used for focusing and a retina containing light-sensitive cells.

Researchers surgically removed the eye bulb and stalk from adult golden apple snails and observed the regeneration process over several weeks. The wound healed within the first 24 hours. Soon afterwards, a group of rapidly dividing cells known as a blastema developed at the site of the injury. This collection of cells acted as a source from which the new eye tissues were formed.

By approximately the ninth day, the developing eye had begun forming an optic cup as retinal precursor cells organised themselves into a cup-like structure. Around day 12, the regenerating retina became more defined and the lens started developing. By about day 15, the major structures of the eye bulb had formed, although they continued to mature during the following weeks.

The research also examined the genetic mechanisms behind the remarkable regeneration. Scientists found that thousands of genes changed their activity during the process, including several associated with eye development in vertebrates. One gene, known as pax6, emerged as particularly important. The gene plays a major role in eye development in humans and other animals.

Using CRISPR gene-editing techniques, researchers disabled pax6 in snail embryos. The resulting embryos developed without eyes or eye stalks, indicating that the gene is essential for eye formation in the species.

Scientists believe the golden apple snail could become a useful model for studying tissue regeneration. Humans cannot naturally replace lost retinal neurons after injury or disease, making regeneration research particularly important for understanding vision loss.

However, the researchers stressed that the findings do not represent an immediate treatment for human eye damage. Instead, the study provides a way to investigate the genes and biological processes that allow a complex eye to rebuild itself, potentially helping future research into regenerative medicine.