Protection in the pouch: antimicrobial peptides in marsupials and monotremes
نویسندگان
چکیده
The production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represents an ancient form of host defence against microbial pathogens and has been identified in both plants and animals. Among the many different antimicrobial peptides, cathelicidins and defensins are the two major families that have been intensively studied in mammals. These small AMPs are usually hydrophobic and highly charged, which enables them to selectively interact and kill a large range of bacterial, fungal or viral pathogens. The recent sequencing of several marsupial and monotreme genomes has led to the identification of AMPs in these divergent mammalian lineages.
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Antimicrobial Protection of Marsupial Pouch Young
Marsupials diverged from eutherian mammals about 148 million years ago and represent a unique lineage of mammals with distinctive morphological and reproductive characteristics. Marsupials have significantly shorter gestation periods than eutherians. Pregnancy typically ranges from 15 to 35 days, with young being born at a very early developmental stage and lacking differentiated lymphoid tissu...
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