The Koala Who Could

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Wang, J. Triadic IBD coefficients and applications to estimating pairwise relatedness. Genet. Res. 89, 135–153 (2007). A specialist arboreal folivore feeding almost exclusively from Eucalyptus spp., the koala has a diet that would be toxic or fatal to most other mammals 3. Due to the low caloric content of this diet, the koala rests and sleeps up to 22 h a day 4. A detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which koalas detoxify eucalyptus and protect their young in the pouch has been elusive, as there are no koala research colonies and access to milk and tissue samples is opportunistic. The genome enables unprecedented insights into the unique biology of the koala, without having to harm or disturb an animal of conservation concern.

the koala genome Adaptation and conservation insights from the koala genome

Faculty of Science, Health, Education & Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore, Queensland, AustraliaDepartment of the Environment. Phascolarctos cinereus (combined populations of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory) in Species Profile and Threats Database (Department of the Environment, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2016). Department of Translational Genetics, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus Li, D. & Zhang, J. Diet shapes the evolution of the vertebrate bitter taste receptor gene repertoire. Mol. Biol. Evol. 31, 303–309 (2014). Watson, K. J. et al. Expression of aquaporin water channels in rat taste buds. Chem. Senses 32, 411–421 (2007).

The Koala Who Could: Bright, Rachel, Field, Jim The Koala Who Could: Bright, Rachel, Field, Jim

Distinct PSMC profiles of the koalas from two geographic areas and their failure to coalesce suggests some regional differences in koala populations, including impediments to gene flow (Fig. 3a). Regional differentiation was also detected in analyses of mtDNA 68, 69, although over a shorter time scale. National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Moore, B. D., Foley, W. J., Wallis, I. R., Cowling, A. & Handasyde, K. A. Eucalyptus foliar chemistry explains selective feeding by koalas. Biol. Lett. 1, 64–67 (2005). In Fig. 3c, center lines indicate median and box limits indicate upper and lower quartiles. Upper whisker = min(max( x), Q_3 + 1.5 × IQR), lower whisker = max(min( x), Q_1 – 1.5 × IQR); i.e., upper whisker = upper quartile + 1.5 × box length, lower whisker = lower quartile – 1.5 × box length. Circles indicate outliers. Linear modeling indicated that mean F differed significantly between several regions (Midcoast New South Wales–Southern Australia, P = 0.000524; Queensland–Southern New South Wales, P = 0.00237; Queensland–Southern Australia, P = 0.00000107; Southeast Queensland–Southern Australia, P = 0.006596). Reporting Summary

Analysis of the genome, in conjunction with a mammary transcriptome and a milk proteome, enabled us to characterize the main components of koala milk (Supplementary Fig. 8, Supplementary Table 16, Supplementary Note and ref. 53). The high-quality assembly of the genome allowed both the identification of marsupial-specific genes and determination of their evolutionary origins based on their genomic locations. For instance, we found that there are four Late Lactation Protein ( LLP) genes tightly linked to both trichosurin and β-lactoglobulin (Supplementary Fig. 8), potentially allowing marsupials to fine-tune milk protein composition across the stages of lactation to meet the changing needs of their young. Additionally, the koala marsupial milk 1 ( MM1) gene, a novel marsupial gene, is located close to the gene encoding very early lactation protein ( VELP), an ortholog of Glycam1 (or PP3) that encodes a eutherian antimicrobial protein 53 (Supplementary Fig. 8). In eutherians, this region contains an array of short glycoproteins that have antimicrobial properties and are found in secretions such as milk, tears and sweat. We propose that MM1 has an antimicrobial role in marsupial milk, along with three other short novel genes located in the same region. We also detected expansions in another antimicrobial gene family, the cathelicidins. Koala immunome and disease Transcriptome data are submitted under PRJNA230900 (adrenal, brain, heart, lung, kidney, uterus, liver and spleen) and PRJNA327021 (milk and mammary gland). Illumina short-read data for Birke is submitted under PRJEB19982.

The Koala Who Could - Little Parachutes The Koala Who Could - Little Parachutes

Burton, M. J. et al. Pathogenesis of progressive scarring trachoma in Ethiopia and Tanzania and its implications for disease control: two cohort studies. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 9, e0003763 (2015). Hobbs, M. et al. Long-read genome sequence assembly provides insight into ongoing retroviral invasion of the koala germline. Sci. Rep. 7, 15838 (2017). Gilbertson, T. A., Baquero, A. F. & Spray-Watson, K. J. Water taste: the importance of osmotic sensing in the oral cavity. J. Water Health 4, 35–40 (2006). This product is for individual single-classroom use only. Copying, altering, redistributing, editing, or re-selling anything from this product is strictly forbidden.Freeland, W.J. & Janzen, D.H. Strategies in herbivory by mammals: the role of plant secondary compounds. Am. Nat. 108, 269–289 https://doi.org/10.1086/282907 (1974). Taylor, A. C. et al. Conservation genetics of the koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus): low mitochondrial DNA variation amongst southern Australian populations. Genet. Res. 69, 25–33 (1997).

koala facts! | National Geographic Kids 10 fascinating koala facts! | National Geographic Kids

Menkhorst, P. Hunted, marooned, re-introduced, contracepted: a history of koala management in Victoria. in Too Close for Comfort: Contentious Issues in Human–Wildlife Encounters (eds. Lunney, D. et al.) 73–92 (Royal Zoological Society of NSW, Mosman, New South Wales, Australia, 2008). Phillips, S. S. Population trends and the koala conservation debate. Conserv. Biol. 14, 650–659 (2000). Understanding the genetics of host resistance to chlamydia and the etiology of the retrovirus will help inform the development of vaccines against both diseases, as well as translocation strategies. Genome-informed conservationAlthough you may have heard people call them koala ‘bears’, these awesome animals aren’t bears at all – they are in fact marsupials. A group of mammals, most marsupials have pouches where their newborns develop. Hobbs, M. et al. A transcriptome resource for the koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus): insights into koala retrovirus transcription and sequence diversity. BMC Genomics 15, 786 (2014). We analyzed populations of recent koala samples using 1,200 SNPs derived from targeted capture libraries mapped to the koala genome ( Supplementary Note). We found notable levels of genetic diversity with limited fine-scale differentiation consistent with long-term connectivity across regions. We found evidence of low genetic diversity in southern koalas, consistent with a recent history of sequential translocations 8, 68, 70, 71 (Fig. 3b,c). At a continental scale, we show biogeographic barriers to gene flow associated with the Brisbane Valley and Clarence River, as identified by mtDNA studies 68, 72, and find a barrier associated with the Hunter Valley, which was not previously known in koalas (Fig. 3b). Levels of inbreeding varied across regions (Fig. 3c), but the northern populations most under threat in New South Wales and Queensland show high levels of genetic diversity. The questions also help your students reflect on that it can be difficult to admit your fears and anxieties, but change can bring new and wonderful experiences. Miners, J. O. & Birkett, D. J. Cytochrome P4502C9: an enzyme of major importance in human drug metabolism. Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 45, 525–538 (1998).