Old Julie M
Water and Wildlife Ecology, School of Science and Health, Hawkesbury, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
PLoS One. 2015 Dec 14;10(12):e0144091. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144091. eCollection 2015.
The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was Australia's largest marsupial carnivore until its extinction within the last century. There remains considerable interest and debate regarding the biology of this species. Studies of thylacine biology are now limited to preserved specimens, and parts thereof, as well as written historical accounts of its biology. This study describes the development of the immune tissues of a pouch young thylacine, one of only eleven in existence, and the only specimen to be histologically sectioned. The appearance of the immune tissue of the developing pouch young thylacine is compared to the immune tissues of extant marsupials, providing insights into the immunity, biology and ecology of the extinct thylacine.
袋狼（袋狼属袋狼种）是澳大利亚曾经最大的有袋类食肉动物，直至上世纪灭绝。关于该物种的生物学仍存在大量研究兴趣和争议。如今，对袋狼生物学的研究仅限于保存下来的标本及其部分组织，还有关于其生物学的文字历史记录。本研究描述了一只育儿袋幼袋狼免疫组织的发育情况，该幼袋狼是现存仅有的11只之一，也是唯一一只进行了组织学切片的标本。将发育中的育儿袋幼袋狼免疫组织的外观与现存有袋类动物的免疫组织进行比较，为已灭绝袋狼的免疫力、生物学和生态学提供了见解。
