Naslov
Opossum (Monodelphis domestica): a captive-bred research colony housed at the University of Trieste, Italy

Autori
Mladinic, M ; Guarino, S ; Maggi, L ; Petrocelli, A ; Zarattini, P.

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, neobjavljeni rad, ostalo

Skup
XXIV CONVEGNO AISAL (Assocazione Italiana per le Scienze degli Animali da Laboratorio) 2017, Moldeli Animali e Medicina Traslazionale: qualità e riproducibilità del disegno sperimentale.

Mjesto i datum
Milano, Italija, 26.10.2017. - 27.10.2017

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Podatak o recenziji nije dostupan

Ključne riječi
short-tailed opossum Monodelphis domestica, colony Trieste, mammalian laboratory animals

Sažetak
The grey short-tailed opossum Monodelphis domestica is a useful animal model for its small size, non-seasonal breeding and ease of care. Moreover, it is the first marsupial whose genome has been sequenced. Our opossum colony belongs to the Department of Biotechnology, University of Rijeka and is bred at the University of Trieste through a scientific agreement signed in 2014 and prolonged up to 2017. Here we present an overview of the colony management rules, the health monitoring procedures and the main aspects of the use in biomedical research of this species. During a 20 years period (1998-today), basic care and welfare, breeding techniques and embryo manipulation were standardized at the Animal Facility resulting in a stable and long- term colony of captive-born animals. M. domestica is an exceptionally healthy laboratory animal and has required not health monitoring procedures other than routine daily observation. Nevertheless we tested the colony once a year for detecting potential pathogenic nasopharyngeal flora. The pups of M. domestica are born very immature, with the unique possibility to successfully regenerate spinal cord after injury during the first two weeks of their life. After that, the regenerative capacity is abruptly lost: at 14 days in cervical spinal segments and at 17 days in less mature lumbar spinal segments. Thus, neonatal opossums represent the unique opportunity to achieve and study mammalian central nervous system that can regenerate, without a need of invasive intrauterine surgery of pregnant females (like necessary for other mammalian laboratory animals, such as mouse or rat).

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Biotehnologija u biomedicini (prirodno područje, biomedicina i zdravstvo, biotehničko područje)

POVEZANOST RADA