| | Monotremes (or egg-laying mammals), comprising the platypus and two echidna genera, are the most basal within living mammals. Their unique phylogenetic position has resulted in considerable interest in the monotremes and recently the complete platypus genome was sequenced, which made headlines all over the world. The avalanche of genomic information has allowed for the first time critical research into all levels of monotreme biology and unprecedented insights into the evolution of mammals.
This special issue, arising from the Boden Research Conference, 'Beyond the Platypus Genome' (held in Victor Harbor, South Australia, in 2008 and organised by Frank Grützner, Jennifer Marshall Graves and Russell Jones) summarises the most recent research and the new insights the platypus genome has given to mammalian evolution and all aspects of monotreme biology. The issue is introduced with two short articles on the remarkable scientific history of the discovery of monotremes and on the role of the platypus genome in comparative genomics of vertebrates. These are followed by in-depth reviews and research articles tackling questions of monotreme chromosome biology, evolutionary and phylogenetic relationships among monotreme, marsupial and eutherian mammals, genes involved in immunology, venom and milk, and more broadly, platypus and echidna ecology, physiology and behaviour.
In summary, this issue provides a rich source of up-to-date overviews, new ideas and new data for any scientist interested in comparative genomics and mammal biology. | |
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