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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Scientists who have mapped the genome of the Australian symbolic animal, koala, say it could help them develop better vaccines to cure animals that are battling a chlamydia epidemic.
Development will also help scientists bypass invasions of marsupial biology study procedures, the exact number of which is unknown, but estimated at between 80,000 and 180,000 species of wildlife groups. [19659004] The Koala Genome Consortium researchers, a team of 54 Australian and international scientists, reported that they sequenced more than 3.4 billion base pairs and more than 26,000 genes in the koala genome, slightly more than great than the human one.
"We are in an excellent position now to develop better vaccines to treat them," said Katherine Belov, a professor of comparative genomics at the University of Sydney.
Belov and his colleagues published their research in Nature Genetics on Monday. (Link go.nature.com/2IQTYwg)
Untreated Chlamydia infections can lead to blindness, severe bladder inflammation, infertility and death in koalas.
Antibiotic treatment often makes it difficult for koalas to digest eucalyptus leaves that are a staple of their diet.
"Over time, we will really understand why some animals cure chlamydia and why others do not, and this will help us develop therapies to treat koalas," Belov said.
Australia ranked koalas as "vulnerable" in a conservation measure in 2012.
Report by Stefica Nicol Bikes; Writing by Colin Packham; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Clarence Fernandez
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