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Australian koalas, threatened by disease, bush fires, car attacks and dog attacks, face a brighter future with scientists deciphering their genetic code, according to a study released Tuesday. Researchers from seven countries have discovered 26,558 koala genes, providing vital DNA clues for vaccines against diseases. "The genome has allowed us to understand the koala genes in detail for the first time," says Rebecca Johnson of the Australian Museum Research Institute. , a co-author of the study published in Nature Genetics.
"These genes contribute directly to vaccines against koalas," she told AFP
. He found that consanguinity was higher among koalas in the states of Victoria and South Australia than among their cousins in Queensland and New South Wales.
The discovery "allows us to make recommendations on how Johnson said that the numbers of koalas were decimated in part by a thriving trade in hides between the 1870s and the late 1920s.
International Union for the Conservation of Nature describes the protection status of the koala as "vulnerable".
Difficult Eater
Koalas are marsupials – mammals that raise their young in a belly bag. Born without an immune system, koala joeys are highly dependent on their mother's milk
A key finding from genome sequencing has been the discovery of koala-specific milk proteins that may also have "potent antibiotic properties …" (which are really effective against bacteria and fungi. "
The unusual diet of Koalas consists mainly of eucalyptus leaves, toxic to most animals and low in calories, which means that" bears Have to eat a lot and rest
The new study has identified genes responsible for liver detoxification that have probably allowed koalas to become such specialists, thus avoiding competition for food with other animals. 19659002] Unfortunately, their precariousness increases the pressure of survival with the eucalyptus cleared for agricultural land schools or for urban construction.
Global warming, according to experts, will further increase the risk of devastating forest fires and tree deaths.
The genome of the koala is large ger than the human genome, with about 20,000 genes.
It is the most complete genome yet sequenced for any marsupial, of which there are about 300 species, the researchers said. AFP
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