From BBC:
The small gray-tailed opossum is the first marsupial do have its complete gene structure read by scientists. The creature is commonly used in labs as an experimental "model" in which to study the causes of human disease, such as cancer and neurological problems.
Knowing its genome will boost those efforts, and give new insight into the different evolutionary paths taken by marsupial and placental mammals.
Details of the work appear in the journals Nature and Genome Research.
The study is part of a grand scheme to compare the biochemistry of a range of animals with that of Homo sapiens, to understand better how the human body is built and maintained, and how all species differ from one another.
"The idea is to obtain genome sequence information from organisms that are appropriately spaced relative to us on the tree of life," explained Adam Felsenfeld, from the US National Human Genome Research Institute.
"For example, by lining up the sequences it is possible to detect regions of the genome that have not changed, so are conserved and perhaps important; or, alternatively, regions that are changing very rapidly."
In the wild, the opossum Monodelphis domestica is found in the trees of South America.
It was chosen as a subject to have its full complement of DNA (its genome) decoded because of its current importance to science.
Its small size, ease of breeding and large litters have made the creature the predominant marsupial for laboratory study worldwide.
The creature is commonly used in labs as an experimental "model" in which to study the causes of human disease, such as cancer and neurological problems.
photo: Dawson/Wikipedia
