The Fat-tailed Dunnart

Many Australian species are constantly under threat from habitat destruction, climate change and invasive species. A major hurdle to applying advanced systems of animal conservation is the lack of well-defined animal models (like laboratory rats and mice) that are practical to use in an experimental setting. My lab has establishing a colony of fat-tailed dunnarts, that are about the size of a mouse, so we can develop such a model and better understand and protect the unique biology of unique Australian marsupials. We will use the dunnart to:

1. Establish a defined marsupial model that can be housed in typical animal holding facilities of any research institute
2. Develop a pipeline for the generation of genetically-modified marsupial
3. Apply genetic modification techniques developed for the dunnart, in threatened/endangered Australian marsupials to guarantee the continuing existence of these valuable and unique animals