Dataset Information

Characterisation of the immune compounds in koala milk using a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach

ABSTRACT: Production of milk is a key characteristic of mammals, but the features of lactation vary greatly between monotreme, marsupial and eutherian mammals. Marsupials have a short gestation followed by a long lactation period, and the milk constituents vary greatly across lactation to meet the changing needs of the developing young. Marsupials are born immunologically naïve and rely on their mother’s milk for immunological protection. The koala is an iconic Australian species and many are increasingly threatened by disease. Here we use a mammary transcriptome, two milk proteomes and the koala genome to comprehensively characterise the protein components of the milk of the koala, with a key focus on the immune constituents during early and late lactation. We have characterised the most abundant peptides present in milk, examined key differences between early and late lactation, and determined differences between the koala and other marsupial species. The most abundant proteins were well characterised mammalian and marsupial-specific milk proteins including β-lactoglobulin, lactotransferrin, caseins and early lactation protein. We have generated a list of 851 immune compounds identified in the mammary transcriptome and examined a range of immune proteins that were highly abundant in the milk proteomes. These include immunoglobulins, complement components and immune receptors. A host of antimicrobial peptides were identified including cathelicidins, lysozyme, WAP four-disulfide core domain protein 2, Mucin-1 and Peptidoglycan recognition protein. We discovered that the previously described marsupial milk protein Very Early Lactation Protein is an ortholog of the eutherian gene Glycam1 (PP3) and likely has an antimicrobial role in milk. We also identified highly abundant koala endogenous retrovirus sequences in the mammary and milk transcriptome and proteomes, identifying a potential route for retroviral transmission from mother to young. Identifying and characterising the immune components of milk is key to understanding how marsupial young are protected throughout lactation and the novel immune compounds identified may have applications in clinical research.

INSTRUMENT(S): TripleTOF 5600

ORGANISM(S): Phascolarctos Cinereus (koala)

SUBMITTER: Thiri Zaw

LAB HEAD: Katherine Belov

PROVIDER: PXD003726 | Pride | 2018-10-26

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Dataset's files

Source:

			Action	DRS
	140912_P16933_Leah_Ovis_MGFPeaklist.mgf	Mgf
	140912_P16933_Leah_R01.wiff	Wiff
	140912_P16933_Leah_R01.wiff.scan	Wiff
	140912_P16933_Leah_R01a.wiff	Wiff
	140912_P16933_Leah_R01a.wiff.scan	Wiff

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Publications

Characterisation of the immune compounds in koala milk using a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach.

Morris Katrina M KM O'Meally Denis D Zaw Thiri T Song Xiaomin X Gillett Amber A Molloy Mark P MP Polkinghorne Adam A Belov Katherine K

Scientific reports 20161007

Production of milk is a key characteristic of mammals, but the features of lactation vary greatly between monotreme, marsupial and eutherian mammals. Marsupials have a short gestation followed by a long lactation period, and milk constituents vary greatly across lactation. Marsupials are born immunologically naïve and rely on their mother's milk for immunological protection. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are an iconic Australian species that are increasingly threatened by disease. Here we use ...[more]

PMID: 27713568

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