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No evidence of expression of two classes of natural antibiotics (cathelicidins and defensins) in a sample of platypus milk

Whittington, Camilla M., Sharp, Julie A., Papenfuss, Anthony and Belov, Katherine 2009, No evidence of expression of two classes of natural antibiotics (cathelicidins and defensins) in a sample of platypus milk, Australian journal of zoology, vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 211-217.

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Title No evidence of expression of two classes of natural antibiotics (cathelicidins and defensins) in a sample of platypus milk
Author(s) Whittington, Camilla M.
Sharp, Julie A.
Papenfuss, Anthony
Belov, Katherine
Journal name Australian journal of zoology
Volume number 57
Issue number 4
Start page 211
End page 217
Publisher CSIRO Publishing
Place of publication Melbourne, Vic.
Publication date 2009
ISSN 0004-959X
1446-5698
Keyword(s) Metatheria
Monotremata
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Monotreme lactation
antimicrobial peptide
Summary Marsupial neonates are born without a fully functioning immune system, and are known to be protected in part by natural antimicrobial peptides present in their mother's milk. Monotreme neonates hatch at a similar stage in development, and it has been hypothesised that their survival in a non-sterile burrow also relies on the presence of natural antibiotics in their mother's milk. Here we review the field of monotreme lactation and the antimicrobial peptide complement of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). Using reverse transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction of milk cell RNA from a sample of platypus milk, we found no evidence for the expression of cathelicidins or defensins in the milk. This was unexpected. We hypothesise that these natural antibiotics may instead be produced by the young platypuses themselves.
Language eng
Field of Research 060409 Molecular Evolution
Socio Economic Objective 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
HERDC collection year 2009
Copyright notice ©2009, CSIRO
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30029287

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: Centre for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences (BioDeakin)
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