MyHC (“my-H-C”) genes are downregulated in this organism’s Short toes mutants. Myofibrils (“MY-oh-FYE-brils”) fail to organize in this organism’s cardiac mutants, which are used to study heart defects because they survive almost to hatching. Injecting iodine can stimulate this organism to undergo a process it normally cannot because it does not endogenously produce thyroid-stimulating hormone. The ALM assay performed in this organism established that nerve signaling, wound epithelium (“woond ep-ih-THEE-lee-um”), and the presence of cells from different axes (“AX-ees”) were sufficient for the regeneration of limbs. While wild-types of these neotenic (“nee-oh-TEN-ick”) amphibians are olive-brown, captive ones are commonly leucistic and pale pink. For 10 points, name this model organism native to Mexico’s Lake Xochimilco (“shoh-chee-MEEL-koh”), a salamander with distinctive gill stalks. ■END■
ANSWER: axolotl [or Ambystoma mexicanum; prompt on salamanders until read; prompt on amphibians until read; prompt on Ambystoma]
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= Average correct buzz position