Publications

changes in the epithelium of the vaginal complex during the estrous cycle of the marsupial monodelphis domestica. 2. scanning electron microscopy study.	the four stages of the estrous cycle in monodelphis domestica, namely proestrus, estrus, postestrus and the transitional metestrus, were analyzed with the scanning electron microscope and compared with the results of the previously published transmission electron-microscopic paper [cells tissues organs 2002;172:276-296]. during the estrous cycle the vaginal epithelium undergoes dramatic changes from a nonkeratinized to a highly keratinized epithelium. the predominant feature of proestrus with th ...	2004	15550759
transplantation of neural progenitor cells into the developing retina of the brazilian opossum: an in vivo system for studying stem/progenitor cell plasticity.	in developing cell transplant strategies to repair the diseased or injured retina is essential to consider host-graft interactions and how they may influence the outcome of the transplants. in the present study we evaluated the influence of the host microenvironment upon neural progenitor cells (npcs) transplanted into the developing and mature retina of the brazilian opossum, monodelphis domestica. monodelphis pups are born in an extremely immature state and the neonatal pups provide a fetal-li ...	2004	15855762
the biodynamics of arboreal locomotion: the effects of substrate diameter on locomotor kinetics in the gray short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica).	effects of substrate diameter on locomotor biodynamics were studied in the gray short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica). two horizontal substrates were used: a flat 'terrestrial' trackway with a force platform integrated into the surface and a cylindrical 'arboreal' trackway (20.3 mm diameter) with a force-transducer instrumented region. on both terrestrial and arboreal substrates, fore limbs exhibited higher vertical impulse and peak vertical force than hind limbs. although vertical limb i ...	2004	15531652
analysis of a marsupial mhc region containing two recently duplicated class i loci.	a 37-kb cosmid containing two complete major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i alpha chain loci from the opossum monodelphis domestica was isolated, fully sequenced, and characterized. this sequence represents the largest contiguous genomic sequence reported for the mhc region of a nonplacental mammal. based on particular conserved amino acid residues, and limited expression analyses, the two mhc-i loci, designated modoub and modouc, appear to encode functional mhc-i molecules. the two co ...	2004	15520888
effect of lead exposure on spatial learning and running speed in the short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica (didelphidae).	studies were conducted to assess the spatial learning ability in adult males of the short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica using a t-maze, complex maze and elevated radial 8-arm maze. this is the first study of maze learning in opossums. in the t-maze, the performance of these animals improved over an 8-day training period. eighty percent of the subjects initially trained to turn to the right for food reinforcement reached criterion (80% correct responses) by day 3 and all reached criterion ...	2004	15303699
unusually similar patterns of antibody v segment diversity in distantly related marsupials.	a pattern of coevolution between the v gene segments of ig h and l chains has been noted previously by several investigators. species with restricted germline v(h) diversity tend to have limited germline v(l) diversity, whereas species with high levels of germline v(h) diversity have more diverse v(l) gene segments. evidence for a limited pool of v(h) but diverse v(l) gene segments in a south american opossum, monodelphis domestica, is consistent with this marsupial being an exception to the pat ...	2005	15843567
modification of odor investigation and discrimination in female opossums (monodelphis domestica) following the ablation of the accessory olfactory bulbs.	to determine whether the vomeronasal system of the brazilian short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica) is important to the response to conspecific chemical signals, the authors tested female opossums with conspecific odors, before and after ablation of their accessory olfactory bulbs (aobs). anesthesia and sham treatments did not modify females' discrimination of conspecific odors when tested against water, between male and female odors, or between different odors from the same male donors. o ...	2005	15839807
postnatal development of limb motor innervation in the opossum monodelphis domestica: immunohistochemical localization of acetylcholine.	the development of limb motor innervation was studied in the opossum monodelphis domestica, a marsupial born with immature mobile forelimbs and immobile hindlimbs. choline acetyltransferase (chat), the synthesis enzyme of acetylcholine, was evidenced on sections of the spinal enlargements, and the protein that transports acetylcholine (vacht) on limb sections. in newborn, chat immunolabeling occurred in small, undifferentiated neurons of the ventral horn, presumably motoneurons, and intermediate ...	2005	15804397
food preferences of captive gray short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica).	the gray short-tailed opossum has been a subject in behavioral and biomedical studies for the last quarter century, but researchers know little about its preferred diet. the authors describe a study designed to determine food preferences of this species for the purpose of identifying suitable rewards to be used in behavioral studies.	2005	15735638
the role of the vomeronasal system in food preferences of the gray short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica.	although feeding deficits have been reported in snakes and lizards following vomeronasal system disruption, no deficit has been previously reported in a mammal. we tested gray short-tailed opossums with items from four different food categories prior to occluding access to the vomeronasal organ. preoperatively, opossums preferred meat to fruit or vegetables. following occlusion of the nasopalatine canal, but not after control treatment, opossums failed to demonstrate food preferences.	2005	15725360
cost of transport is increased after cold exposure in monodelphis domestica: training for inefficiency.	monodelphis domestica (didelphidae: marsupialia) lacks brown adipose tissue and thus relies on skeletal muscle as its primary thermogenic organ. following cold exposure, the aerobic capacity of skeletal muscle in these animals is greatly increased. we investigated the effects of this plastic response to thermogenesis on locomotion and muscle mechanics. in cold-exposed animals, cost of transport was 15% higher than in controls but was unaffected by exercise training. twitch kinetics in isolated s ...	2005	16081613
myelinogenesis in the brachial and lumbosacral enlargements of the spinal cord of the opossum monodelphis domestica.	using immunohistochemistry in light microscopy, the myelin basic protein and proteolipid protein were localized on sections of the spinal cord enlargements of opossums, monodelphis domestica, to determine the timecourse of myelinogenesis therein and compare it with other events of motor systems development. additional tissue not processed for immunohistochemistry was prepared for transmission electron microscopy. no immunolabeling for either protein occurred on spinal sections from the newborn o ...	2005	15677860
the complement system of the marsupial monodelphis domestica.	the activation requirements and pathways of the serum c' system of the marsupial monodelphis domestica were characterized using standard hemolytic procedures. the existence of distinct classical and alternative activation pathways was established on the basis of their ionic requirements, hemolytic capacity at different temperatures, kinetics of hemolysis, and differential susceptibility to the classical pathway inhibitor carrageenan. for the most part, the activities of these pathways were influ ...	2005	9639092
breakdown of the blood-brain barrier to proteins in white matter of the developing brain following systemic inflammation.	compromised blood-brain barrier permeability resulting from systemic inflammation has been implicated as a possible cause of brain damage in fetuses and newborns and may underlie white matter damage later in life. rats at postnatal day (p) 0, p8 and p20 and opossums (monodelphis domestica) at p15, p20, p35, p50 and p60 and adults of both species were injected intraperitoneally with 0.2-10 mg/kg body weight of 055:b5 lipopolysaccharide. an acute-phase response occurred in all animals. a change in ...	2005	15846513
acoustic startle response in the opossum monodelphis domestica in comparison with the wistar albino rat.	the acoustic startle response (asr) was studied in 20 gray short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica) and its characteristics were compared with those obtained from responses of 20 wistar albino rats. the animals were exposed to 10 ms, 110 db white noise acoustic pulses in the coulbourn apparatus. amplitude of asr was normalized to the weight of animals and then analyzed. the results show that probability of a freezing response is much higher in the opossums that generally respond with lower ...	2005	15960307
neural progenitor cell transplants into the developing and mature central nervous system.	when developing cell transplant strategies to repair the diseased or injured central nervous system (cns), it is essential to consider host-graft interactions and how they may influence the outcome of the transplants. recent studies have demonstrated that transplanted neural progenitor cells (npcs) can differentiate and integrate morphologically into developing mammalian retinas. is the ability to differentiate and to undergo structural integration into the cns unique to specific progenitor cell ...	2005	15965112
immunotolerance in the laboratory opossum (monodelphis domestica) to xenografted mouse melanoma.	monodelphis domestica, a south american marsupial, has been developed as a laboratory animal model for allogeneic and xenogeneic cancer research by taking advantage of its underdeveloped immune system in the early days of life. the limited immunological capability during this period provides an opportunity to induce tolerance to grafted tumor tissue in juvenile and adult opossums. in this study, we injected multiple doses of mouse b16 melanoma cells into opossums at different developmental ages ...	2005	16138781
the prion protein gene: identifying regulatory signals using marsupial sequence.	the function of the prion protein gene (prnp) and its normal product prp(c) is elusive. we used comparative genomics as a strategy to understand the normal function of prnp. as the reliability of comparisons increases with the number of species and increased evolutionary distance, we isolated and sequenced a 66.5 kb bac containing the prnp gene from a distantly related mammal, the model australian marsupial macropus eugenii (tammar wallaby). marsupials are separated from eutherians such as human ...	2005	15777726
divergent t-cell receptor delta chains from marsupials.	complementary dnas (cdnas) encoding t-cell receptor delta (trd) chains from the northern brown bandicoot, isoodon macrourus, were identified while sequencing expressed sequence tags (ests) from a thymus cdna library. surprisingly, the i. macrourus trd sequences were not orthologous to previously published trd sequences from another australian marsupial, the tammar wallaby, macropus eugenii. identification of trd genes in the recently completed whole genome sequence of the south american opossum, ...	2005	16160827
development, inheritance, and linkage-group assignment of 60 novel microsatellite markers for the gray, short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica.	short-tandem-repeat (ssr) or microsatellite polymorphisms are some of the most extensively employed genetic markers in contemporary linkage mapping studies. to date, only a limited number of microsatellites have been isolated in the gray, short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica, a south american marsupial widely used for comparative biological and biomedical research. to increase the number of potentially useful mapping markers, we screened 2 microsatellite-enriched genomic libraries containi ...	2005	16391671
imprinting of opossum igf2r in the absence of differential methylation and air.	phylogenetic comparison of extant mammals with divergent imprint status is a powerful method for identifying critical components of imprint regulation at individual loci. the entire genomic region of igf2r in the imprinted marsupials, didelphis virginiana and monodelphis domestica, and the non-imprinted monotreme, ornithorhynchus anatinus, was isolated and sequenced. genetic and epigenetic comparisons of over 160 kb of sequence were then performed in five distinct mammalian species. surprisingly ...	2006	17998818
expansion of the mast cell chymase locus over the past 200 million years of mammalian evolution.	the acidic granules of natural killer (nk) cells, t cells, mast cells, and neutrophils store large amounts of serine proteases. functionally, these proteases are involved, e.g., in the induction of apoptosis, the recruitment of inflammatory cells, and the remodeling of extra-cellular matrix. among the granule proteases are the phylogenetically related mast cell chymases, neutrophil cathepsin g, and t-cell granzymes (gzm b to h and gzm n), which share the characteristic absence of a cys(191)-cys( ...	2006	16807745
in silico identification and bayesian phylogenetic analysis of multiple new mammalian kallikrein gene families.	kallikrein gene families have been identified previously in genomes of the human, the mouse, and the rat, and individual kallikrein-like genes have been found in many more species. this study presents the in silico identification of kallikrein gene families in the recently sequenced genomes of four additional mammalian species, the chimpanzee, the dog, the pig, and the opossum. phylogenies were constructed with gene sequences from all seven mammalian families, using bayesian analysis, which clar ...	2006	16829021
genome sequence comparison reveals independent inactivation of the caspase-15 gene in different evolutionary lineages of mammals.	we have recently demonstrated that placental mammalian species such as pig and dog express a novel proapoptotic protease, caspase-15, whereas mouse and humans lack this enzyme. here we investigated the evolutionary fate of the caspase-15 gene in different mammalian lineages by analyzing whole-genome shotgun sequences of 30 mammalian species for the presence of caspase-15 orthologs. caspase-15 gene sequences were found in representatives of all major mammalian clades except for the superorders af ...	2006	16887902
in silico identification of opossum cytokine genes suggests the complexity of the marsupial immune system rivals that of eutherian mammals.	cytokines are small proteins that regulate immunity in vertebrate species. marsupial and eutherian mammals last shared a common ancestor more than 180 million years ago, so it is not surprising that attempts to isolate many key marsupial cytokines using traditional laboratory techniques have been unsuccessful. this paucity of molecular data has led some authors to suggest that the marsupial immune system is 'primitive' and not on par with the sophisticated immune system of eutherian (placental) ...	2006	17094811
the organization of the keratin i and ii gene clusters in placental mammals and marsupials show a striking similarity.	the genomic database for a marsupial, the opossum monodelphis domestica, is highly advanced. this allowed a complete analysis of the keratin i and keratin ii gene cluster with some 30 genes in each cluster as well as a comparison with the human keratin clusters. human and marsupial keratin gene clusters have an astonishingly similar organization. as placental mammals and marsupials are sister groups a corresponding organization is also expected for the archetype mammal. since hair is a mammalian ...	2006	16439307
linkage mapping and physical localization of the major histocompatibility complex region of the marsupial monodelphis domestica.	we used genetic linkage mapping and fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish) to conduct the first analysis of genic organization and chromosome localization of the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) of a marsupial, the gray, short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica. family based linkage analyses of two m. domestica mhc class i genes (ua1, ug) and three mhc class ii genes (dab, dma, and dmb) revealed that these genes were tightly linked and positioned in the central region of linkage group ...	2006	16484784
common procedures in hedgehogs, prairie dogs, exotic rodents, and companion marsupials.	nondomesticated species are commonly being kept as companion animals. these include the african pygmy hedgehog (atelerix albi-ventris), the north american black-tailed prairie dog (cynomys lu-dovicianus), and exotic rodents such as the degu (octodon degus)and duprasi or fat-tailed gerbil (pachyuromys duprasi). common companion marsupials include the sugar glider (petaurus breviceps),bennett's or tammar (dama) wallabies (macropus rufogriseus rufo-griseus and macropus eugenii, respectively), the b ...	2006	16759954
functional effectiveness of the blood-brain barrier to small water-soluble molecules in developing and adult opossum (monodelphis domestica).	we have evaluated a small water-soluble molecule, biotin ethylenediamine (bed, 286 da), as a permeability tracer across the blood-brain barrier. this molecule was found to have suitable characteristics in that it is stable in plasma, has low plasma protein binding, and appears to behave in a similar manner across brain barriers as established by permeability markers such as sucrose. bed, together with a 3000-da biotin-dextran (bda3000), was used to investigate the effectiveness of tight junction ...	2006	16528724
evolution of the "or37" subfamily of olfactory receptors: a cross-species comparison.	genes encoding the olfactory receptors of the "or37" subfamily of the mouse are characterized by special features including a clustered expression pattern, assembly in two distinct gene clusters, and highly conserved putative promoter motifs. mining the rat and dog databases revealed that these two species possess highly conserved clusters of or37 genes at two syntenic genomic loci. in a prototherian mammal, the platypus (ornithorhynchus anatinus), none of the characteristic or37 genes were foun ...	2006	16547640
proceedings of the smbe tri-national young investigators' workshop 2005. lineage-specific expansions and contractions of the bitter taste receptor gene repertoire in vertebrates.	the sense of bitter taste plays a critical role in how organisms avoid generally bitter toxic and harmful substances. previous studies revealed that there were 25 intact bitter taste receptor (t2r) genes in humans and 34 in mice. however, because the recent chicken genome project reported only three t2r genes, it appears that extensive gene expansions occurred in the lineage leading to mammals or extensive gene contractions occurred in the lineage leading to birds. here, i examined the t2r gene ...	2006	16484289
cellular origins of ultraviolet radiation-induced corneal tumours in the grey, short-tailed south american opossum (monodelphis domestica).	corneal tumours were induced in almost 100% of grey, short-tailed south american opossums (monodelphis domestica) exposed three times weekly to ultraviolet radiation (uvr) for periods of a year or more. five tumours, representing the morphological spectrum of uvr-induced corneal tumours (two fibrosarcomas, one malignant fibrous histiocytoma, one putative haemangiosarcoma, and one squamous cell carcinoma overlying a sarcoma), were assayed immunohistochemically for reactivity with antibodies again ...	2006	11032660
hearing in the marsupial monodelphis domestica as determined by auditory-evoked brainstem responses.	the audiogram of the marsupial monodelphis domestica was determined by measuring brainstem auditory-evoked potentials in response to pure-tone stimuli of 2-90 khz. the frequency range at 60 db spl comprises frequencies between about 2.3 and 63 khz. the best frequency range with average thresholds of 3 db spl in young adults (3 months old) is between 12 and 16 khz. in older animals, thresholds are higher. the overall shape and frequency range of the audiogram and the absolute thresholds indicate ...	2006	8833313
development and plasticity of the retina in the opossum monodelphis domestica.	we investigated the rate of cell proliferation and death in the retina of the monodelphis opossum during its postnatal development and the influence of early monocular enucleation on these processes. our results show that in the opossum, as in other marsupials, the peak of the retinal cells divisions occurs postnatally and that generation of retinal cells continues till the time of eye opening (p34), except of the marginal rim, where it continued till p60. ganglion and amacrine cells are generat ...	2006	17133949
phenotypic diversity is the cornerstone of evolution: variation in cortical field size within short-tailed opossums.	natural selection operates on phenotypic variation that exists within a population. variable aspects of cortical organization, such as the size and connections of a cortical field, can generate differences in behavior, which is a target of natural selection. yet studies pertaining to within-species variability in cortical organization are limited. in the present investigation, we examined variation in brain size, cortical sheet size, and primary sensory cortical field sizes in the adult short-ta ...	2006	17072834
further characterization of t cell receptor chains of marsupials.	cdna clones encoding t cell receptor alpha (tcralpha) and beta (tcrbeta) from the south american opossum, monodelphis domestica were isolated and characterized. a single clone isolated encoding a tcralpha chain was full length, containing the complete v (variable), j (joining) and c (constant) regions. three partial cdna clones were isolated for tcrbeta which contained complete c sequences. phylogenetic analysis of the tcr valpha revealed that the m. domestica sequence and a sequence from the au ...	2006	11356229
physical mapping of immunoglobulin loci igh@, igk@, and igl@ in the opossum (monodelphis domestica).		2006	16717464
physical mapping of t cell receptor loci (tra@, trb@, trd@ and trg@) in the opossum (monodelphis domestica).		2006	16484802
locomotor kinetics and kinematics on inclines and declines in the gray short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica.	small terrestrial animals continually encounter sloped substrates when moving about their habitat; therefore, it is important to understand the mechanics and kinematics of locomotion on non-horizontal substrates as well as on level terrain. to this end, we trained gray short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica) to move along level, 30 degrees inclined, and 30 degrees declined trackways instrumented with a force platform. vertical, craniocaudal and mediolateral impulses, peak vertical forces, ...	2006	17023608
modo-ug, a marsupial nonclassical mhc class i locus.	modo-ug is a class i gene located in the mhc of the marsupial monodelphis domestica, the gray, short-tailed opossum. modo-ug is expressed as three alternatively spliced mrna forms, all of which encode a transmembrane form with a short cytoplasmic tail that lacks phosphorylation sites typically found in classical class i molecules. the three alternative mrnas would encode a full-length form, an isoform lacking the alpha2 domain, and one lacking both alpha2 and alpha3 domains. genotyping both capt ...	2006	16738937
reconstructing an ancestral mammalian immune supercomplex from a marsupial major histocompatibility complex.	the first sequenced marsupial genome promises to reveal unparalleled insights into mammalian evolution. we have used the monodelphis domestica (gray short-tailed opossum) sequence to construct the first map of a marsupial major histocompatibility complex (mhc). the mhc is the most gene-dense region of the mammalian genome and is critical to immunity and reproductive success. the marsupial mhc bridges the phylogenetic gap between the complex mhc of eutherian mammals and the minimal essential mhc ...	2006	16435885
primary sensory afferent innervation of the developing superficial dorsal horn in the south american opossum monodelphis domestica.	the development of the primary sensory innervation of the superficial dorsal horn (sdh) was studied in postnatal opossums monodelphis domestica by using dii labelling of primary afferents and with gsa-ib(4) lectin binding and calcitonin gene-related peptide (cgrp) immunoreactivity to label primary afferent subpopulations. we also compared the timing of sdh innervation in the cervical and lumbar regions of the spinal cord. the first primary afferent projections to sdh emerge from the most lateral ...	2006	16432898
efferent connections of the main olfactory bulb in the opossum (monodelphis domestica): a characterization of the olfactory entorhinal cortex in a marsupial.	olfactory projections have been investigated for decades, but few reports using modern, sensitive neural tracers are available. in marsupials, only lesion-degeneration studies exist and they are restricted to the genera didelphis and trichosurus. some of the territories described as olfactory-recipient such as the upper portion of the rhinal fissure and the vomeronasal amygdala are, however, controversial. also, the characterization of the olfactory portion of the entorhinal cortex is far from c ...	2006	16298058
increase of annexin 1 immunoreactivity in spinal cord of newborn opossum (monodelphis domestica) at the time when regeneration after injury stops being possible.	annexins constitute a family of proteins that associate reversibly with cell membranes in a calcium dependent manner. we have studied the distribution of annexin 1, which is known to mediate anti-inflammatory actions of glucocorticoids, and which is upregulated after spinal cord injury, in newborn and adult south american opossum (monodelphis domestica) spinal cord. we show the increase in the annexin 1 immunoreactivity in spinal cords of neonatal opossums over the critical period when regenerat ...	2007	17647193
cranial endocasts from a growth series of monodelphis domestica (didelphidae, marsupialia): a study of individual and ontogenetic variation.	intraspecific variation (e.g., ontogenetic, individual, sexual dimorphic) is rarely examined among cranial endocasts (infillings of the braincase cavity) because of the difficulty in obtaining multiple specimens of a species, particularly fossil taxa. we extracted digital cranial endocasts from ct scans of a growth series of skulls of monodelphis domestica, the gray short-tailed opossum, as a preliminary assessment of the amount of intraspecific variation in mammalian endocranial morphology. the ...	2007	17626259
changes in the oviducal epithelium during the estrous cycle in the marsupial monodelphis domestica.	the monodelphis oviduct can be divided into four anatomical segments: preampulla (comprising fimbriae and infundibulum), ampulla, isthmus with crypts and uterotubal junction. ovaries are enclosed in a periovarial sac, the bursa, and in some specimens tubules of an epoophoron could be identified. in both structures non-ciliated cells develop small translucent vesicles, which accumulate in the cell apices and presumably produce fluid as often seen in the bursa and in the tubules of the epooophoron ...	2007	17883438
the opossum genome reveals further evidence for regulatory evolution in mammalian diversification.	the sequencing of the euchromatic genome of a marsupial, the opossum monodelphis domestica, identifies shared and unique features of marsupial and placental genomes and reveals a prominent role for the evolution of non-protein-coding elements.	2007	17688679
effect of minocycline on inflammation-induced damage to the blood-brain barrier and white matter during development.	damage to white matter in some premature infants exposed to intrauterine infections is thought to involve disruption of the blood-brain barrier. we have examined the effect of minocycline, an agent reported to reduce brain damage resulting from inflammation, on inflammation-induced disruption of the blood-brain barrier and damage to white matter. post-natal marsupial opossums (monodelphis domestica) were studied as most brain development in this species occurs after birth. single intraperitoneal ...	2007	18088277
meiotic sex chromosome inactivation in the marsupial monodelphis domestica.	in eutherian mammals, the x and y chromosomes undergo meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (msci) during spermatogenesis in males. however, following fertilization, both the paternally (xp) and maternally (xm) inherited x chromosomes are active in the inner cell mass of the female blastocyst, and then random inactivation of one x chromosome occurs in each cell, leading to a mosaic pattern of x-chromosome activity in adult female tissues. in contrast, marsupial females show a nonrandom pattern of ...	2007	17987663
an analysis of the gene complement of a marsupial, monodelphis domestica: evolution of lineage-specific genes and giant chromosomes.	the newly sequenced genome of monodelphis domestica not only provides the out-group necessary to better understand our own eutherian lineage, but it enables insights into the innovative biology of metatherians. here, we compare monodelphis with homo sequences from alignments of single nucleotides, genes, and whole chromosomes. using phyop, we have established orthologs in homo for 82% (15,250) of monodelphis gene predictions. those with single orthologs in each species exhibited a high median sy ...	2007	17495010
locomotor kinetics on sloped arboreal and terrestrial substrates in a small quadrupedal mammal.	small animals must be capable of moving on a wide variety of surfaces; thus, examining the mechanics of locomotion on a wide variety of substrates is necessary to understand how the animal can utilize its habitat. therefore, locomotor kinetics are examined on arboreal and terrestrial sloped substrates in the marsupial monodelphis domestica (gray short-tailed opossum). substrate reaction forces were measured as opossums moved across four trackways: 30 degrees upslope and 30 degrees downslope trac ...	2007	17374478
discovery of alpha-defensins in basal mammals.	alpha-defensins are essential molecules of the innate immune system that have broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against a range of bacteria and viruses. to date, alpha-defensins have only been identified in the euarchontoglires branch of the mammals. this has led to speculation that alpha-defensins may be specific to this group, a somewhat surprising finding, given their importance in the immune system. the mammalian genome project provided us with the opportunity to search for alpha-defensi ...	2007	17367857
a microsatellite-based, physically anchored linkage map for the gray, short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica).	the genome of the gray, short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica, will be the first of any marsupial to be fully sequenced. the utility of this sequence will be greatly enhanced by construction and integration of detailed genetic and physical maps. therefore, it is important to verify the unusual recombinational characteristics that were suggested by the 'first-generation' m. domestica linkage map; specifically, very low levels of recombination and severely reduced female recombination, both ...	2007	17333535
firing properties of accessory olfactory bulb mitral/tufted cells in response to urine delivered to the vomeronasal organ of gray short-tailed opossums.	in comparison with many mammals, there is limited knowledge of the role of pheromones in conspecific communication in the gray short-tailed opossum. here we report that mitral/tufted (m/t) cells of the accessory olfactory bulb (aob) of male opossums responded to female urine but not to male urine with two distinct patterns: excitation followed by inhibition or inhibition. either pattern could be mimicked by application of guanosine 5'-o-3-thiotriphosphate and blocked by guanosine 5'-o-2-thiodiph ...	2007	17325343
integrated cytogenetic bac map of the genome of the gray, short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica.	the generation of high-quality genome assemblies for numerous species is advancing at a rapid pace. as the number of genome assemblies increases, so does our ability to investigate genome relationships and their contributions to unraveling complex biological, evolutionary, and biomedical processes. a key process in the generation of a genome assembly is to determine and verify the precise physical location and order of the large sequence blocks (scaffolds) that result from the assembly. for orga ...	2007	17406991
characterization of the opossum immune genome provides insights into the evolution of the mammalian immune system.	the availability of the first marsupial genome sequence has allowed us to characterize the immunome of the gray short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica). here we report the identification of key immune genes, including the highly divergent chemokines, defensins, cathelicidins, and natural killer cell receptors. it appears that the increase in complexity of the mammalian immune system occurred prior to the divergence of the marsupial and eutherian lineages approximately 180 million years ago. ...	2007	17495011
genome of the marsupial monodelphis domestica reveals innovation in non-coding sequences.	we report a high-quality draft of the genome sequence of the grey, short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica). as the first metatherian ('marsupial') species to be sequenced, the opossum provides a unique perspective on the organization and evolution of mammalian genomes. distinctive features of the opossum chromosomes provide support for recent theories about genome evolution and function, including a strong influence of biased gene conversion on nucleotide sequence composition, and a relatio ...	2007	17495919
physical mapping of the igf2 locus in the south american opossum monodelphis domestica.	the south american opossum monodelphis domestica has been a model organism for marsupials for many years and has recently been the subject of a large-scale genome sequencing effort that will provide the foundation for comparative studies of gene function and regulation. genomic imprinting is one mechanism of gene regulation that has received increasing attention due to the impact of imprinting defects on development and disease. we have mapped the imprinted insulin-like growth factor ii (igf2) g ...	2007	17268191
blood groups in a marsupial (monodelphis domestica).	we produced alloimmune sera against erythrocytes of the marsupial, monodelphis domestica. by absorption fractionation, six operationally monospecific blood typing reagents (hemolysins) were prepared. using segregation analyses, we found that each reagent detects a blood group antigen controlled by an autosomal dominant gene. with the description of these genetic markers, the utility of m. domestica as an animal model is enhanced.	2007	8228172
phylogenetic appearance of neuropeptide s precursor proteins in tetrapods.	sleep and emotional behavior are two hallmarks of vertebrate animal behavior, implying that specialized neuronal circuits and dedicated neurochemical messengers may have been developed during evolution to regulate such complex behaviors. neuropeptide s (nps) is a newly identified peptide transmitter that activates a typical g protein-coupled receptor. central administration of nps produces profound arousal, enhances wakefulness and suppresses all stages of sleep. in addition, nps can alleviate b ...	2007	17293003
analysis of a set of australian northern brown bandicoot expressed sequence tags with comparison to the genome sequence of the south american grey short tailed opossum.	expressed sequence tags (ests) have been used for rapid gene discovery in a variety of organisms and provide a valuable resource for whole genome annotation. although the genome of one marsupial, the opossum monodelphis domestica, has now been sequenced, no est datasets have been reported from any marsupial species. in this study we describe an est dataset from the bandicoot, isoodon macrourus, providing information on the transcriptional profile of the bandicoot thymus and the opportunity for a ...	2007	17298671
evolutionary dynamics of transposable elements in the short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica.	the genome of the gray short-tailed opossum monodelphis domestica is notable for its large size ( approximately 3.6 gb). we characterized nearly 500 families of interspersed repeats from the monodelphis. they cover approximately 52% of the genome, higher than in any other amniotic lineage studied to date, and may account for the unusually large genome size. in comparison to other mammals, monodelphis is significantly rich in non-ltr retrotransposons from the line-1, cr1, and rte families, with > ...	2007	17495012
regulatory conservation of protein coding and microrna genes in vertebrates: lessons from the opossum genome.	being the first noneutherian mammal sequenced, monodelphis domestica (opossum) offers great potential for enhancing our understanding of the evolutionary processes that take place in mammals. this study focuses on the evolutionary relationships between conservation of noncoding sequences, cis-regulatory elements, and biologic functions of regulated genes in opossum and eight vertebrate species.	2007	17506886
indelscan: a web server for comparative identification of species-specific and non-species-specific insertion/deletion events.	insertion and deletion (indel) events usually have dramatic effects on genome structure and gene function. species-specific indels have been demonstrated to be associated with species-unique traits. currently, indel identifications mainly rely on pair-wise sequence alignments (the 'pair-wise indels'), which suffer lack of discrimination of species specificity and insertion versus deletion. also, there is no freely accessible web server for genome-wide identification of indels. therefore, we deve ...	2007	17517762
evolution of mammalian cd1: marsupial cd1 is not orthologous to the eutherian isoforms and is a pseudogene in the opossum monodelphis domestica.	cd1 is a member of the major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i family of proteins that present lipid antigens to t cells and natural killer (nk) t cells; it is found in both eutherian mammals and birds. in eutherians, duplication of the cd1 gene has resulted in multiple isoforms. a marsupial cd1 homologue was identified in a set of expressed sequence tags from the thymus of the bandicoot isoodon macrourus. southern blot and genomic sequence analyses revealed that cd1 is a single copy gene ...	2007	17244156
suprasternal gland secretion of male short-tailed opossum induces ip3 generation in the vomeronasal organ.	chemical communication is an important component of mammalian social behaviors. gray short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica) communicate by scent marking. the male opossum possesses a prominent suprasternal scent gland, extracts of which strongly attract female opossums. this attractivity remains unaltered following repeated lyophilization. the suprasternal gland secretion functions in a sexually dimorphic manner, i.e., it elicits elevated levels of ip(3) in the vomeronasal (vn) sensory ep ...	2007	17306463
molecular characterisation and expression of cd4 in two distantly related marsupials: the gray short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica) and tammar wallaby (macropus eugenii).	the gene and corresponding cdna for cd4 in the gray short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica, and the cdna sequence for cd4 in the tammar wallaby, macropus eugenii, have been characterised. the opossum cd4 homolog reveals conserved synteny, preserved genomic organisation and analogous structural arrangement to human and mouse cd4. opossum and tammar cd4 exhibit typical eutherian cd4 features including the highly conserved p56(lck) binding motif in the cytoplasmic region and the invariant cyst ...	2007	17521733
isolation and characterization of melanopsin (opn4) from the australian marsupial sminthopsis crassicaudata (fat-tailed dunnart).	melanopsin confers photosensitivity to a subset of retinal ganglion cells and is responsible for many non-image-forming tasks, like the detection of light for circadian entrainment. recently, two melanopsin genes, opn4m and opn4x, were described in non-mammalian vertebrates. however, only one form, opn4m, has been described in the mammals, although studies to date have been limited to the placentals and have not included the marsupials. we report here the isolation and characterization of an opn ...	2007	17785267
the genome of a gondwanan mammal.	australia is thought of as the home of marsupials, but south america has 60 or so species of these interesting mammals. the genome of one of these, the south american grey short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica, has just been sequenced and published in june.1 the high quality 6x coverage is the first marsupial genome completed, pipping the 2x coverage of the australian tammar wallaby at the post by half a year. the opossum genome has an unusual structure with fewer chromosomes than the huma ...	2007	17935149
chromosomal instability in afrotheria: fragile sites, evolutionary breakpoints and phylogenetic inference from genome sequence assemblies.	extant placental mammals are divided into four major clades (laurasiatheria, supraprimates, xenarthra and afrotheria). given that afrotheria is generally thought to root the eutherian tree in phylogenetic analysis of large nuclear gene data sets, the study of the organization of the genomes of afrotherian species provides new insights into the dynamics of mammalian chromosomal evolution. here we test if there are chromosomal bands with a high tendency to break and reorganize in afrotheria, and b ...	2007	17958882
karyotype composition of some rodents and marsupials from chapada diamantina (bahia, brasil).	the chapada diamantina (cd) is located in bahia state, between 11-14 degrees s and 41-43 degrees w, being part of the serra do espinhaço. the occurrence of different habitats and transition areas permits an interesting mammal fauna composition, with species from different biomes living in sympatry. species of didelphimorphia and rodentia are important members of mammal communities in almost all different habitats, and morphological and cytogenetic characters are important for a correct identific ...	2007	18094834
distribution of the parvalbumin, calbindin-d28k and calretinin immunoreactivity in globus pallidus of the brazilian short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica).	this study describes the topography, borders and divisions of the globus pallidus in the brazilian short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica) and distribution of the three calcium binding proteins, parvalbumin (pv), calbindin d-28k (cb) and calretinin (cr) in that nucleus. the globus pallidus of the opossum consists of medial and lateral parts that are visible with nissl or timm's staining and also in pv and cr immunostained sections. neurons of the globus pallidus expressing these proteins we ...	2007	18320720
genes flanking xist in mouse and human are separated on the x chromosome in american marsupials.	x inactivation, the transcriptional silencing of one of the two x chromosomes in female mammals, achieves dosage compensation of x-linked genes relative to xy males. in eutherian mammals x inactivation is regulated by the x-inactive specific transcript (xist), a cis-acting non-coding rna that triggers silencing of the chromosome from which it is transcribed. marsupial mammals also undergo x inactivation but the mechanism is relatively poorly understood. we set out to analyse the x chromosome in ...	2007	17333537
the search for a marsupial xic reveals a break with vertebrate synteny.	x-chromosome inactivation (xci) evolved in mammals to deal with x-chromosome dosage imbalance between the xx female and the xy male. in eutherian mammals, random xci of the soma requires a master regulatory locus known as the 'x-inactivation center' (xic/xic), wherein lies the noncoding xist/xist silencer rna and its regulatory antisense tsix gene. by contrast, marsupial xci is imprinted to occur on the paternal x chromosome. to determine whether marsupials and eutherians share the xic-driven me ...	2007	17333538
age-related differences in the local cellular and molecular responses to injury in developing spinal cord of the opossum, monodelphis domestica.	immature spinal cord, unlike adult, has an ability to repair itself following injury. evidence for regeneration, structural repair and development of substantially normal locomotor behaviour comes from studies of marsupials due to their immaturity at birth. we have compared morphological, cellular and molecular changes in spinal cords transected at postnatal day (p)7 or p14, from 3 h to 2 weeks post-injury, in south american opossums (monodelphis domestica). a bridge between severed ends of cord ...	2007	17432961
determination of wavelength-specific uv protection factors of sunscreens in intact skin by epr measurement of uv-induced reactive melanin radical.	there remains an unmet need for skin tissue-based assays for the measurement of the uva protection and efficacy of sunscreens. here we describe development of a novel electron paramagnetic resonance assay that uses the photogeneration of reactive melanin radical as a measure of uv light penetration to melanocytes in situ in skin. we have used areas of focal melanocytic hyperplasia in the skin of monodelphis domestica to model the human nevus. we show that we are able to use this assay to determi ...	2007	17645669
mechanism of uv-related carcinogenesis and its contribution to nevi/melanoma.	melanoma consists 4-5 % of all skin cancers, but it contributes to 71-80 % of skin cancers deaths. uv light affects cell and tissue homeostasis due to its damaging effects on dna integrity and modification of expression of a plethora of genes. dna repair systems protect cells from uv-induced lesions. several animal models of melanoma have been developed (xiphophorus, opossum monodelphis domestica, mouse models and human skin engrafts into other animals). this review discusses possible links betw ...	2007	18846265
trypanosoma (megatrypanum) samueli n. sp., a trypanosomatidae isolated from monodelphis domesticus (wagner, 1842) (marsupiala).		2007	931316
in vitro and in silico annotation of conserved and nonconserved micrornas in the genome of the marsupial monodelphis domestica.	the gray short-tailed opossum, monodelphis domestica, is the world's most widely utilized marsupial model for biomedical research. recent completion of the initial m. domestica genome assembly offers the first opportunity to examine genome-wide phenomena in a marsupial. using in silico methods, we have mapped 124 conserved micrornas (mirnas) to 94 loci in the m. domestica genome. in addition, using rna pooled from 5 tissues, we cloned 85 mirnas. seventy-two of these are conserved mirnas that we ...	2008	17965199
trypanosoma cruzi transmission cycle among wild and domestic mammals in three areas of orally transmitted chagas disease outbreaks.	we report trypanosoma cruzi infection in wild and domestic mammals from three orally acquired chagas disease outbreak areas in brazil. cachoeiro do arari (pará) displayed a panzootic scenery (positive mammals in all ecologic strata), and human cases were probably the consequence of their exposure within the sylvatic t. cruzi transmission cycle. in navegantes (santa catarina), didelphis spp. was the main reservoir host, given that 93% were infected. in redenção (ceará), monodelphis domestica and ...	2008	18981516
physical map of two tammar wallaby chromosomes: a strategy for mapping in non-model mammals.	marsupials are especially valuable for comparative genomic studies of mammals. two distantly related model marsupials have been sequenced: the south american opossum (monodelphis domestica) and the tammar wallaby (macropus eugenii), which last shared a common ancestor about 70 mya. the six-fold opossum genome sequence has been assembled and assigned to chromosomes with the help of a cytogenetic map. a good cytogenetic map will be even more essential for assembly and anchoring of the two-fold wal ...	2008	18987984
postnatal lung and metabolic development in two marsupial and four eutherian species.	two marsupial species (monodelphis domestica, macropus eugenii) and four eutherian species (mesocricetus auratus, suncus murinus, tupaia belangeri and cavia aperea) were examined to compare and contrast the timing of lung and metabolic development during the postnatal maturation of the mammalian respiratory apparatus. using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, the lung structural changes were correlated with indirect calorimetry to track the metabolic development. marsupial and ...	2008	18179474
extended substrate specificity of opossum chymase--implications for the origin of mast cell chymases.	serine proteases are major granule constituents of mast cells, neutrophils, t cells and nk cells. the genes encoding these proteases are arranged in different loci. the mast cell chymase locus e.g. comprises at least one alpha-chymase, one cathepsin g, and two granzyme genes in almost all mammalian species investigated. however, in the gray, short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica) this locus contains only two genes. phylogenetic analyses place one of them clearly with the alpha-chymases, wh ...	2008	18022236
genomic imprinting of igf2 in marsupials is methylation dependent.	parent-specific methylation of specific cpg residues is critical to imprinting in eutherian mammals, but its importance to imprinting in marsupials and, thus, the evolutionary origins of the imprinting mechanism have been the subject of controversy. this has been particularly true for the imprinted insulin-like growth factor ii (igf2), a key regulator of embryonic growth in vertebrates and a focal point of the selective forces leading to genomic imprinting. the presence of the essential imprinti ...	2008	18454865
pirna-like rnas in the marsupial monodelphis domestica identify transcription clusters and likely marsupial transposon targets.	piwi-interacting rnas (pirnas) are a recently discovered class of small noncoding rnas that have been detected in human, mouse, rat, zebrafish, and drosophila genomes. we have utilized a size-directed small-rna cloning procedure to clone and map more than 300 candidate pirna-like small rnas in the genome of the marsupial species monodelphis domestica. our results are consistent with those from other species in that the pirna-like candidate sequences range in size from 28 to 31 nucleotides, show ...	2008	18473137
trypanosoma (megatrypanum) saloboense n. sp. (kinetoplastida: trypanosomatidae) parasite of monodelphis emiliae (marsupiala: didelphidae) from amazonian brazil.	trypanosoma (megatrypanum) soloboense n. sp., is described in the brazilian opossum monodelphis emiliae (thomas, 1912) from primary forest in the salobo area of the serra dos carajás (6 degrees s, 50 degrees 18' w) pará state, north brazil. two morphologically different trypomastigotes were noted. slender forms, regarded as immature parasites, have a poorly developed undulating membrane adhering closely to the body: large, broad forms with a well developed membrane are considered to be the matur ...	2008	18642501
[ectoparasites of small wild mammals from the adjacent areas of itapecuru river and environmental preservation area of inhamum, state of maranhão, brazil].	during fauna studies, thirty-six wild mammals were collected in adjacent areas of itapecuru river and environmental preservation area of inhamum, state of maranhão, brazil. they were sampled for ectoparasites. the following specimens of the order rodentia and its respective ectoparasites were identified: akodon sp. (androlaelaps sp. and laelaps sp.), oecomys sp. (androlaelaps sp. and amblyomma cajennense), oligoryzomys sp. (androlaelaps sp. laelaps sp. and amblyomma sp.) e oryzomys megacephalus ...	2008	20059819
characterization of cochlear nucleus principal cells of meriones unguiculatus and monodelphis domestica by use of calcium-binding protein immunolabeling.	antibodies directed against calcium-binding proteins (cabps) parvalbumin, calbindin-d28k and calretinin were used as neuronal markers to identify and characterize different principal cell types in the mammalian cochlear nucleus. for this purpose, double immunofluorescence labeling and the combination of cabp-labeling with pan-neuronal markers were applied to analyze the cabps distribution in neurons of the cochlear nucleus (cn) of the mongolian gerbil (meriones unguiculatus) and the gray short-t ...	2008	18065198
immunohistochemical localization of cholecystokinin in the medial preoptic area and anterior hypothalamus of the brazilian gray short-tailed opossum: a sex difference.	we have studied the anatomical localization of cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity (cck ir) in somata and fibers in the medial preoptic area (mpa) and anterior hypothalamus (ah) of the brazilian gray short-tailed opossum, (monodelphis domestica). with the aid of an avidin-biotin, nickel-enhanced, immunohistochemical technique, cck ir neuronal elements were found within the mpa and ah. a large number of cck ir cell bodies were located in the mpa of colchicine-treated opossums. the mpa also cont ...	2008	2394987
identification and correction of abnormal, incomplete and mispredicted proteins in public databases.	despite significant improvements in computational annotation of genomes, sequences of abnormal, incomplete or incorrectly predicted genes and proteins remain abundant in public databases. since the majority of incomplete, abnormal or mispredicted entries are not annotated as such, these errors seriously affect the reliability of these databases. here we describe the mispred approach that may provide an efficient means for the quality control of databases. the current version of the mispred appro ...	2008	18752676
comparative genomic analysis and evolution of the t cell receptor loci in the opossum monodelphis domestica.	all jawed-vertebrates have four t cell receptor (tcr) chains: alpha (tra), beta (trb), gamma (trg) and delta (trd). marsupials appear unique by having an additional tcr: mu (trm). the evolutionary origin of trm and its relationship to other tcr remain obscure, and is confounded by previous results that support trm being a hybrid between a tcr and immunoglobulin locus. the availability of the first marsupial genome sequence allows investigation of these evolutionary relationships.	2008	18312668
mammalian genome projects reveal new growth hormone (gh) sequences. characterization of the gh-encoding genes of armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus), hedgehog (erinaceus europaeus), bat (myotis lucifugus), hyrax (procavia capensis), shrew (sorex araneus), ground squirrel (spermophilus tridecemlineatus), elephant (loxodonta africana), cat (felis catus) and opossum (monodelphis domestica).	mammalian growth hormone (gh) sequences have been shown previously to display episodic evolution: the sequence is generally strongly conserved but on at least two occasions during mammalian evolution (on lineages leading to higher primates and ruminants) bursts of rapid evolution occurred. however, the number of mammalian orders studied previously has been relatively limited, and the availability of sequence data via mammalian genome projects provides the potential for extending the range of gh ...	2008	17574247
chronic cold exposure increases skeletal muscle oxidative structure and function in monodelphis domestica, a marsupial lacking brown adipose tissue.	monodelphis domestica (marsupialia: didelphidae) was used as a model animal to investigate and compare muscle adaptation to exercise training and cold exposure. the experimental treatment consisted of four groups of animals: either warm or cold acclimation temperature and with or without endurance exercise training. maximal aerobic capacity during a running vo2max test in the warm-exercised or cold-exposed (with or without exercise) groups was about 130 ml o(2)/kg/min, significantly higher than ...	2008	14988803
marsupial uncoupling protein 1 sheds light on the evolution of mammalian nonshivering thermogenesis.	brown adipose tissue expressing uncoupling protein 1 (ucp1) is responsible for adaptive nonshivering thermogenesis giving eutherian mammals crucial advantage to survive the cold. the emergence of this thermogenic organ during mammalian evolution remained unknown as the identification of ucp1 in marsupials failed so far. here, we unequivocally identify the marsupial ucp1 ortholog in a genomic library of monodelphis domestica. in south american and australian marsupials, ucp1 is exclusively expres ...	2008	17971503
opossum (monodelphis domestica): a marsupial development model.	introductionmonodelphis domestica is the most commonly used laboratory marsupial. in addition to the many factors that make it a convenient laboratory animal (small size, ease of care, nonseasonal breeding), it is the first marsupial whose genome has been sequenced. in this article, we present an overview of aspects of its biology and its use as a model organism. we also discuss basic care, breeding, embryo manipulation, and modifications of common techniques for the study of the development of ...	2008	21356687
behavioral and reproductive responses of female opossums to volatile and nonvolatile components of male suprasternal gland secretion.	female gray short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica) lack an estrous cycle and are induced into estrus by exposure to a pheromone in male scent marks. behavioral and physiological responses of females to the volatile and nonvolatile components of scent marks were examined in two experiments. young females (n=9) were tested prior to and during their first estrus for behavioral responses to scent marks, collected on a 7-ml glass vial rubbed over the suprasternal gland of a mature male. the re ...	2008	18771668
mechanics of torque generation during quadrupedal arboreal locomotion.	quadrupedal animals moving on arboreal substrates face unique challenges to maintain stability. the torque generated by the limbs around the long axis of a branch during locomotion may clarify how the animals remain stable on arboreal supports. we sought to determine what strategy gray short-tailed opossums (monodelphis domestica) use to exert torque and avoid toppling. the opossums moved across a branch trackway about half the diameter of their bodies. part of the trackway was instrumented to m ...	2008	18619599
thalamic nuclei in the opossum monodelphis domestica.	we investigated nuclear divisions of the thalamus in the gray short-tailed opossum (monodelphis domestica) to gain detailed information for further developmental and comparative studies. nissl and myelin staining, histochemistry for acetylcholinesterase and immunohistochemistry for calretinin and parvalbumin were performed on parallel series of sections. many features of the monodelphis opossum thalamus resemble those in didelphis and small eutherians showing no particular sensory specialization ...	2008	18571895
differential expression of hepatic genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis in high- and low-responding strains of laboratory opossums.	plasma very low-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein (vldl+ldl) cholesterol levels of 2 partially inbred strains of opossums (monodelphis domestica) differ markedly when they are fed a high-cholesterol and low-fat (hclf) diet. high-responding opossums exhibit a dramatic increase (>10-fold) in vldl+ldl cholesterol, whereas low-responding opossums exhibit a minimal increase (<2-fold) in vldl+ldl cholesterol. the genes responsible for the accumulation of high levels of plasma vldl+ldl ch ...	2008	18442639
cell birth and death in the developing retina of the brazilian opossum, monodelphis domestica.	the purpose of this study was to characterize cytogenesis and apoptosis in the developing retina of the brazilian opossum, monodelphis domestica. monodelphis is a small pouchless marsupial whose young undergo a protracted period of postnatal development. moreover, the monodelphis retina represents a unique in vivo compartment for investigating cellular interactions that occur during early neural development and is an important system to study plasticity of neural stem cells following transplanta ...	2008	18191114