Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39742480›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Unearthing the secrets of Australia's most enigmatic and cryptic mammal, the marsupial mole.

Stephen R Frankenberg, Sarah Lucas, Charles Y Feigin, Liliya Doronina, Raphael Steffen, Gabrielle Hartley, Patrick Grady, Brandon R Menzies, Ricardo De Paoli-Iseppi, Stephen Donnellan and 9 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Loss-of-function mutations inBiology letters · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Stephen R FrankenbergSchool of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2497-7356
Sarah LucasDepartment of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2832-044X
Charles Y FeiginSchool of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4981-5254
Liliya DoroninaInstitute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Raphael SteffenInstitute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4947-3899
Gabrielle HartleyDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5672-2171
Patrick GradyDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0180-7810
Brandon R MenziesSchool of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Ricardo De Paoli-IseppiDepartment of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7724-9144
Stephen DonnellanSouth Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5448-3226
Mitzi KleinMonash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7778-3002
Axel NewtonSchool of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7175-5978
Jay R BlackSchool of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences; Melbourne Trace Analysis for Chemical, Earth and Environmental Sciences Platform, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1872-9345
Michael ClarkDepartment of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-2903-9537
Steven CooperSouth Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7843-8438
Rachel O'NeillDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1525-6821
Nathan ClarkDepartment of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0006-8374
Jürgen SchmitzInstitute of Experimental Pathology, ZMBE, University of Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4686-861X
Andrew J PaskSchool of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1900-2263

Funding

Title: Functional Annotation of Genomes via Phenotypic Convergence within Large Multi-species AlignmentsR01HG009299 · NHGRI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Maria D Chikina, Nathaniel L Clark · 2017 to 2026
$4.1M
Discovery and characterization of ocular regulatory elements through evolutionary analysisR01EY030546 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · PI CHIKINA, MARIA D, CLARK, NATHANIEL L · 2020 to 2024
$2.4M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY030546NHGRI NIH HHS R01 HG009299
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The marsupial moles are arguably Australia's most enigmatic marsupials. Almost indistinguishable from placental (eutherian) moles, they provide a striking example of convergent evolution. Exploring the genome of the southern marsupial mole, we provide insights into its unusual biology. We show definitively by retrophylogenomic analysis that marsupial moles are most closely related to bandicoots and bilbies (order Peramelemorphia). We find evidence of a marked decline in marsupial mole effective population size, most likely preceding the arrival of humans in regions near its range, and potentially corresponding to periods of climatic change. Our analysis of loss of eye function-an adaptation to subterranean life-reveals a structured order of loss of gene function associated first with the lens, then cone, and finally rod cells. Last, we identify genetic changes suggestive of adaptation to an oxygen-poor environment and of its evolution of partially descended testes.

Indexed as

MarsupialiaMolesAnimalsAustraliaBiological EvolutionGenomePhylogeny

Identifiers

PMID39742480
PMCPMC11691648

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.