Genome sequence of an Australian kangaroo, Macropus eugenii, provides insight into the evolution of mammalian reproduction and developmentMarilyn B Renfree
The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Kangaroo Genomics, Australia
Genome Biol 12:R81. 2011
..Like other marsupials, it gives birth to highly altricial young, and has a small number of very large chromosomes, making it a valuable model for genomics, reproduction and development...
Contagious cancer: lessons from the devil and the dogKatherine Belov
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Bioessays 34:285-92. 2012
..A greater understanding of these contagious cancers will provide unique insights into the role of the immune system in shaping tumour evolution and may uncover novel approaches for treating human cancer...
- A first-generation integrated tammar wallaby map and its use in creating a tammar wallaby first-generation virtual genome map
Chenwei Wang
Australian Research Council ARC Centre of Excellence for Kangaroo Genomics
BMC Genomics 12:422. 2011
..However, only limited mapping data are available for this non-model species, comprising a physical map and a linkage map...
- The role of the Major Histocompatibility Complex in the spread of contagious cancers
Katherine Belov
Faculty of Veterinary Science, RMC Gunn B19, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Mamm Genome 22:83-90. 2011
..Transmissible cancers are rare but they can provide unique insights into the genetics and immunology of tumours and organ transplants...
- High levels of genetic variation at MHC class II DBB loci in the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)
Yuanyuan Cheng
Faculty of Veterinary Science, RMC Gunn B19, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Immunogenetics 61:111-8. 2009
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- Identification of natural killer cell receptor clusters in the platypus genome reveals an expansion of C-type lectin genes
Emily S W Wong
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, B19 RMC Gunn, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
Immunogenetics 61:565-79. 2009
..We have used this new data from platypus to trace the possible evolutionary history of the NK receptor clusters...
- MHC gene copy number variation in Tasmanian devils: implications for the spread of a contagious cancer
Hannah V Siddle
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Proc Biol Sci 277:2001-6. 2010
..The implication of these results for management of DFTD and this endangered species are discussed...
- The tammar wallaby major histocompatibility complex shows evidence of past genomic instability
Hannah V Siddle
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
BMC Genomics 12:421. 2011
..The tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii), an Australian marsupial, provides a unique model for understanding MHC gene evolution, as many of its antigen presenting genes are not linked to the MHC, but are scattered around the genome...
- Novel venom gene discovery in the platypus
Camilla M Whittington
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Regimental Crescent, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
Genome Biol 11:R95. 2010
..We have constructed and sequenced a cDNA library from an active platypus venom gland to identify the remaining components...
- Understanding and utilising mammalian venom via a platypus venom transcriptome
Camilla M Whittington
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
J Proteomics 72:155-64. 2009
..It is therefore hoped that this basic research to identify the constituents of platypus venom will eventually yield novel drugs and new targets for painkillers...
- A limited role for gene duplications in the evolution of platypus venom
Emily S W Wong
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Mol Biol Evol 29:167-77. 2012
..However, gene duplications alone do not explain the "venome" of the platypus. Other mechanisms, such as alternative splicing and mutation, may be important in venom innovation...
- Identification of natural killer cell receptor genes in the genome of the marsupial Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)
Lauren E van der Kraan
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, B19 RMC Gunn, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Immunogenetics 65:25-35. 2013
..Understanding the functional role of these genes is also important for the development of therapeutic agents against Devil Facial Tumour Disease, a contagious cancer that threatens the Tasmanian devil with extinction...
- MHC-linked and un-linked class I genes in the wallaby
Hannah V Siddle
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
BMC Genomics 10:310. 2009
..We investigated this hypothesis by characterizing the class I genes of the tammar wallaby, a model marsupial that has a novel MHC organization, with class I genes located within the MHC and 10 other chromosomal locations...
- Antigen-presenting genes and genomic copy number variations in the Tasmanian devil MHC
Yuanyuan Cheng
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
BMC Genomics 13:87. 2012
..DFTD is caused by a clonal tumour cell line that is transmitted between unrelated individuals as an allograft without triggering immune rejection due to low levels of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) diversity in Tasmanian devils...
- Expression patterns of platypus defensin and related venom genes across a range of tissue types reveal the possibility of broader functions for OvDLPs than previously suspected
Camilla M Whittington
Faculty of Veterinary Science, RMC Gunn B19, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Toxicon 52:559-65. 2008
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- Telomere dynamics and homeostasis in a transmissible cancer
Beata Ujvari
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
PLoS ONE 7:e44085. 2012
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- Evolution of a contagious cancer: epigenetic variation in Devil Facial Tumour Disease
Beata Ujvari
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Proc Biol Sci 280:20121720. 2013
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- Transcriptomic analysis supports similar functional roles for the two thymuses of the tammar wallaby
Emily S W Wong
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
BMC Genomics 12:420. 2011
..Here, we used pyrosequencing to compare the transcriptomes of a cervical and thoracic thymus from a single 178 day old tammar wallaby...
- Transmission of a fatal clonal tumor by biting occurs due to depleted MHC diversity in a threatened carnivorous marsupial
Hannah V Siddle
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:16221-6. 2007
..The neoplastic clone continues to spread although the population, and, without active disease control by removal of affected animals and the isolation of disease-free animals, the Tasmanian devil faces extinction...
- New insights into the role of MHC diversity in devil facial tumour disease
Amanda Lane
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
PLoS ONE 7:e36955. 2012
..Here we test the hypothesis that animals that remain healthy and tumour free show predictable differences at MHC loci compared to animals that develop the disease...
Characterization of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II genes from the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)Hannah V Siddle
Centre for Advanced Technologies in Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, RMC Gunn B19, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
Immunogenetics 59:753-60. 2007
..The MHC genes described here are most likely involved in antigen presentation and are an important first step for studying MHC diversity and immune response in the devil...
- Low MHC class II diversity in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)
Yuanyuan Cheng
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, RMC Gunn B19, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Immunogenetics 64:525-33. 2012
..These findings further support the view that this species has a compromised capacity to respond to pathogen evolution, emerging infectious diseases and environmental changes...
- Isolation of monotreme T-cell receptor alpha and beta chains
Katherine Belov
Evolutionary Biology Unit, Australian Museum, 6 College St, 2010, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Immunogenetics 56:164-9. 2004
..Southern blot analysis indicates that, like in other mammalian species, there is only one TCRA constant region copy in the echidna genome, but at least two TCRB constant regions...
- Venom evolution through gene duplications
Emily S W Wong
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Gene 496:1-7. 2012
..We also focus on other genomic processes, such as exon and domain duplications, in venom evolution. Finally, we conclude by focusing on the use of high throughput sequencing technology in understanding venom evolution...
- Diversity at the major histocompatibility complex Class II in the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Mette Lillie
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
J Hered 103:467-78. 2012
..Loss of MHC diversity on King Island is of concern, as the population may have compromised immunological fitness and reduced ability to resist changing environmental conditions...
- Isolation of major histocompatibility complex Class I genes from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)
Hannah V Siddle
Centre for Advanced Technologies in Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Immunogenetics 58:487-93. 2006
..Phylogenetic analysis of tammar wallaby Class I sequences and other mammalian Class I sequences suggests that some tammar wallaby and red-necked wallaby loci evolved from common ancestral genes...
- Proteomics and deep sequencing comparison of seasonally active venom glands in the platypus reveals novel venom peptides and distinct expression profiles
Emily S W Wong
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
Mol Cell Proteomics 11:1354-64. 2012
..These novel venom proteins have potential biomedical and therapeutic applications and provide insights into venom evolution...
- Characterization and evolution of vertebrate indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenases IDOs from monotremes and marsupials
Hajime J Yuasa
Molecular Immunopathology Unit, Discipline of Pathology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 153:137-44. 2009
..The protein encoded by the ancestor gene of IDO1 and IDO2 is likely to have had properties more similar to present day IDO2 than to IDO1...
- Characterisation of four major histocompatibility complex class II genes of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Quintin Lau
Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Immunogenetics 65:37-46. 2013
..We detected greater variation in the β1 than in the α1 domains as well as evidence of positive selection in DAB. The present study provides a springboard to future investigation of the role of MHC in disease susceptibility in koalas...
- Defensins and the convergent evolution of platypus and reptile venom genes
Camilla M Whittington
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Genome Res 18:986-94. 2008
..Convergent evolution has repeatedly selected genes coding for proteins containing specific structural motifs as templates for venom molecules...
- Immunome database for marsupials and monotremes
Emily S W Wong
Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
BMC Immunol 12:48. 2011
..This was required as many genes involved in immunity evolve rapidly and fail to be detected by automated gene annotation pipelines...
- Characterization of the opossum immune genome provides insights into the evolution of the mammalian immune system
Katherine Belov
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Genome Res 17:982-91. 2007
..Given the similarities in the genomic architecture of the marsupial and eutherian immune systems, we propose that marsupials are ideal model organisms for the study of developmental immunology...
- Evolution of viviparity and uterine angiogenesis: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in oviparous and viviparous skinks
Bridget F Murphy
Integrative Physiology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol 314:148-56. 2010
..The presence of VEGF(111) in S. equalis may be an opportunity to investigate the function of this unique transcript in a whole animal system...
- Low major histocompatibility complex diversity in the Tasmanian devil predates European settlement and may explain susceptibility to disease epidemics
Katrina Morris
Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
Biol Lett 9:20120900. 2013
..We conclude that low MHC diversity has been a feature of devil populations since at least the Mid-Holocene and could explain their tumultuous history of population crashes...
- Reconstructing an ancestral mammalian immune supercomplex from a marsupial major histocompatibility complex
Katherine Belov
Centre for Advanced Technologies in Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camden, Australia
PLoS Biol 4:e46. 2006
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- Mammalian l-to-d-amino-acid-residue isomerase from platypus venom
Allan M Torres
School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney, Building G08, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
FEBS Lett 580:1587-91. 2006
..The isomerase is approximately 50-60 kDa and is inhibited by methanol and the peptidase inhibitor amastatin. This is the first known l-to-d-amino-acid-residue isomerase in a mammal...
- Molecular cloning and characterization of the polymorphic MHC class II DBB from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)
Teena L Browning
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, 2109 Sydney, NSW, Australia
Immunogenetics 55:791-5. 2004
..Two additional DBB sequences were amplified from tammar wallaby genomic DNA. All four sequences were obtained from the same individual, indicating that there are at least two DBB loci in the tammar wallaby...
- Evolution of the major histocompatibility complex: Isolation of class II beta cDNAs from two monotremes, the platypus and the short-beaked echidna
Katherine Belov
Evolutionary Biology Unit, Australian Museum, 6 College St, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
Immunogenetics 55:402-11. 2003
..However, within the mammalian clade, monophyletic clades are not robust, and elucidation of the order of gene duplication that gave rise to the present-day gene clusters is not yet possible...
