Ancestral, conserved and novel mechanisms in marsupial genomic imprinting

基因组印记是一些基因的差异表达模式，取决于基因拷贝是来自母亲还是父亲。这种差异表达对胚胎发育至关重要，错误会导致疾病。迄今为止，我们对基因组印记控制的大部分知识来自小鼠，但对有袋动物的这一过程知之甚少。我们的比较方法，使用与小鼠和人类有远亲的有袋哺乳动物，旨在阐明基因组印记机制是如何进化的，哪些模式在哺乳动物中是保守的，哪些是不同的。我们提出的研究旨在为生命延续所必需的这一基本过程提供新的方法和理解。

Genomic imprinting is the differential expression pattern of some genes depending on whether the gene copy came from the mother or the father. This differential expression is essential for embryonic development and errors lead to disease. To date, most of our knowledge of the control of genomic imprinting comes from the mouse, but much less is known about this process in marsupials. Our comparative approach, using marsupial mammals that are distantly related to mice and humans, aims to clarify how genomic imprinting mechanisms have evolved, which patterns are conserved across mammals, and which vary. Our proposed research aims to provide new approaches and understanding of this fundamental process essential for the continuation of life.