Authors
Rebecca N Johnson, Denis O’Meally, Zhiliang Chen, Graham J Etherington, Simon YW Ho, Will J Nash, Catherine E Grueber, Yuanyuan Cheng, Camilla M Whittington, Siobhan Dennison, Emma Peel, Wilfried Haerty, Rachel J O’Neill, Don Colgan, Tonia L Russell, David E Alquezar-Planas, Val Attenbrow, Jason G Bragg, Parice A Brandies, Amanda Yoon-Yee Chong, Janine E Deakin, Federica Di Palma, Zachary Duda, Mark DB Eldridge, Kyle M Ewart, Carolyn J Hogg, Greta J Frankham, Arthur Georges, Amber K Gillett, Merran Govendir, Alex D Greenwood, Takashi Hayakawa, Kristofer M Helgen, Matthew Hobbs, Clare E Holleley, Thomas N Heider, Elizabeth A Jones, Andrew King, Danielle Madden, Jennifer A Marshall Graves, Katrina M Morris, Linda E Neaves, Hardip R Patel, Adam Polkinghorne, Marilyn B Renfree, Charles Robin, Ryan Salinas, Kyriakos Tsangaras, Paul D Waters, Shafagh A Waters, Belinda Wright, Marc R Wilkins, Peter Timms, Katherine Belov
Publication date
2018/8
Journal
Nature Genetics
Volume
50
Issue
8
Pages
1102-1111
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Description
The koala, the only extant species of the marsupial family Phascolarctidae, is classified as ‘vulnerable’ due to habitat loss and widespread disease. We sequenced the koala genome, producing a complete and contiguous marsupial reference genome, including centromeres. We reveal that the koala’s ability to detoxify eucalypt foliage may be due to expansions within a cytochrome P450 gene family, and its ability to smell, taste and moderate ingestion of plant secondary metabolites may be due to expansions in the vomeronasal and taste receptors. We characterized novel lactation proteins that protect young in the pouch and annotated immune genes important for response to chlamydial disease. Historical demography showed a substantial population crash coincident with the decline of Australian megafauna, while contemporary populations had biogeographic boundaries and increased inbreeding in …
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