Salamander Meeting 2026: Bridging development, regeneration and conservation in Mexico

The Salamander Meeting 2026 was held October 6-8, 2026, at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City, bringing together an international community of researchers to discuss how tissues establish their organization during development and how salamanders restore it after injury. A tribute to Malcolm Maden offered a historical perspective on these questions, highlighting the contributions of retinoid signaling and positional information to our understanding of development and regeneration. The scientific sessions explored relationships among limb patterning, cell fate, organ regeneration, and neural function, while cross-species, tissue, and injury-context comparisons highlighted both conserved principles and context-dependent mechanisms. These discussions were further enriched by selected short talks and 35 posters covering a broad range of developmental and regenerative processes. Beyond laboratory research, the meeting also addressed the ecological and cultural significance of the axolotl in Mexico. Presentations on Xolotl in Nahua thought, skin microbiomes, and embryo preservation connected axolotl biology to its cultural history and conservation challenges. The visit to Xochimilco highlighted the importance of traditional chinampa agriculture and habitat restoration for conserving the axolotl in its native environment. By integrating perspectives from developmental and regenerative biology with conservation and the cultural history of the axolotl, the meeting highlighted the importance of connecting scientific research with the species and environments that make it possible.