Sequencing of first marsupial genome could lead to human treatments

Characterisation of the opossum immune genome provides insights into the evolution of the mammalian immune system, appears in the most recent issue of the journal Genome Research as a companion paper to the opossum genome sequence, the cover story this week in the prestigious journal Nature.

Dr Katherine Belov from the University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science and her team aligned 1528 human immune-related proteins to the South American opossum genome, and found that the genetic constituents of the human and opossum "immunomes" were similar.

The findings of the study suggest that the opossum provides a great model for studying the developmental immunology of humans, as their immune systems are similar, however in the case of the opossum the immune system develops outside the uterus, so experimental studies are less invasive.

One of the areas in which the opossum provides an ideal model organism for the study of human disease is in the search for a treatment for melanoma, as it is the only species apart from humans to develop melanomas from UV light alone. The availability of immune gene sequences means that immune responses to melanomas can now be investigated.

'The study has given us a more in-depth understanding about the ancestral mammalian immune system. Over time, different pathogen pressures have led to expansions and contractions of different gene families in different species. Comparative studies can provide a unique method of developing novel therapeutics for managing human health,' said Dr Belov.

The findings have also opened up new avenues of research into marsupial health. 'Identification of immune genes provides a great springboard into all sorts of studies into marsupial health and disease. My group is focussing on two areas in particular - the Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease and Chlamydia in Koalas,' said Dr Belov.

Internationally renowned researchers working in comparative genomics will meet at the University of Sydney in June as part of the 54th Annual Conference of the Genetics Society of Australasia. -University of Sidney