Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China.
Nat Commun. 2013;4:1426. doi: 10.1038/ncomms2416.
Chinese tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) possess many features valuable in animals used as experimental models in biomedical research. Currently, there are numerous attempts to employ tree shrews as models for a variety of human disorders: depression, myopia, hepatitis B and C virus infections, and hepatocellular carcinoma, to name a few. Here we present a publicly available annotated genome sequence for the Chinese tree shrew. Phylogenomic analysis of the tree shrew and other mammalians highly support its close affinity to primates. By characterizing key factors and signalling pathways in nervous and immune systems, we demonstrate that tree shrews possess both shared common and unique features, and provide a genetic basis for the use of this animal as a potential model for biomedical research.
中国树鼩（Tupaia belangeri chinensis）具有许多在生物医学研究中用作实验模型的动物的特征。目前，有许多尝试将树鼩作为多种人类疾病的模型：抑郁症、近视、乙型和丙型肝炎病毒感染以及肝细胞癌等。在这里，我们提供了中国树鼩的公开可用的注释基因组序列。树鼩与其他哺乳动物的系统基因组分析高度支持其与灵长类动物的密切亲缘关系。通过对神经系统和免疫系统的关键因子和信号通路进行特征描述，我们证明树鼩既有共同的特征，也有独特的特征，并为将这种动物用作生物医学研究的潜在模型提供了遗传基础。
