%0 Journal Article
%T Immunome database for marsupials and monotremes
%A Emily SW Wong
%A Anthony T Papenfuss
%A Katherine Belov
%J BMC Immunology
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1471-2172-12-48
%X We have developed a database of immune genes from the tammar wallaby, red-necked wallaby, northern brown bandicoot, brush-tail possum, opossum, echidna and platypus. The resource contains 2,235 newly identified sequences and 3,197 sequences which had been described previously. This comprehensive dataset was built from a variety of sources, including EST projects and expert-curated gene predictions generated through a variety of methods including chained-BLAST and sensitive HMMER searches. To facilitate systems-based research we have grouped sequences based on broad Gene Ontology categories as well as by specific functional immune groups. Sequences can be extracted by keyword, gene name, protein domain and organism name. Users can also search the database using BLAST.The Immunome Database for Marsupials and Monotremes (IDMM) is a comprehensive database of all known marsupial and monotreme immune genes. It provides a single point of reference for genomic and transcriptomic datasets. Data from other marsupial and monotreme species will be added to the database as it become available. This resource will be utilized by marsupial and monotreme immunologists as well as researchers interested in the evolution of mammalian immunity.Recently, two marsupial genomes and one monotreme genome have been sequenced: the grey short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica; 7กม coverage) [1], the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii; 2กม) (in prep.), and the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus; 6กม) [2]. Marsupial and monotreme lineages branched off approximately 148 My and 166 My ago from the lineage leading to eutherian mammals [3]. They hold a unique evolutionarily position providing a link to the reptilian phase of our ancestry. Combined with their unusual biological traits, they are capable of providing important insights to our understanding of mammalian biology and evolution.Genome sequencing has generated huge amounts of genomic data. This has expedited the identification of genes in the
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2172/12/48