Abstract / Description
Marsupials are a unique group of mammals widely used in clinical and evo-devo research for their unusual reproductive traits. The ability to edit marsupial genomes would vastly improve their utility as research models, as well as potentially alleviate the complex and pressing ecological challenges marsupials face. To date, however, genome editing has only been achieved for a single species (Monodelphis domestica), despite the recent influx of high-quality genomes, largely due to this species' similarity to rodent models. In this review, we outline the marsupial-specific challenges and opportunities of both zygote-based and germ cell transplantation approaches to genome editing and summarise current efforts to fill this critical gap in the marsupial research and conservation toolkit.