Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun 23:8:e9335.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9335. eCollection 2020.

Marsupial and monotreme milk-a review of its nutrient and immune properties

Hayley J Stannard  1 , Robert D Miller  2 , Julie M Old  3
Affiliations

Marsupial and monotreme milk-a review of its nutrient and immune properties

Hayley J Stannard et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

All mammals are characterized by the ability of females to produce milk. Marsupial (metatherian) and monotreme (prototherian) young are born in a highly altricial state and rely on their mother's milk for the first part of their life. Here we review the role and importance of milk in marsupial and monotreme development. Milk is the primary source of sustenance for young marsupials and monotremes and its composition varies at different stages of development. We applied nutritional geometry techniques to a limited number of species with values available to analyze changes in macronutrient composition of milk at different stages. Macronutrient energy composition of marsupial milk varies between species and changes concentration during the course of lactation. As well as nourishment, marsupial and monotreme milk supplies growth and immune factors. Neonates are unable to mount a specific immune response shortly after birth and therefore rely on immunoglobulins, immunological cells and other immunologically important molecules transferred through milk. Milk is also essential to the development of the maternal-young bond and is achieved through feedback systems and odor preferences in eutherian mammals. However, we have much to learn about the role of milk in marsupial and monotreme mother-young bonding. Further research is warranted in gaining a better understanding of the role of milk as a source of nutrition, developmental factors and immunity, in a broader range of marsupial species, and monotremes.

Keywords: Marsupial; Milk; Monotreme.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Right angle mixture triangle of macronutrient composition of milk from the eastern quoll and tammar wallaby at different weeks (w) of lactation.
For the tammar wallaby values represent phase 2A, 2B and two time points within phase3. Protein and lipid (% energy) increase along the X and Y axes, respectively. The percentage of carbohydrate decreases with distance from the origin, with the diagonal lines representing a fixed percentage carbohydrate.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Right-angled mixture triangle of commercially available marsupial milk formulas.
Protein and lipid (% energy) increase along the X and Y axes, respectively. The percentage of carbohydrate decreases with distance from the origin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Adamski FM, Demmer J. Two stages of increased IgA transfer during lactation in the marsupial, Trichosurus vulpecula (Brushtail possum) Journal of Immunology. 1999;162:6009–6015. - PubMed
    1. Adamski FM, Demmer J. Immunological protection of the vulnerable marsupial pouch young: two periods of immune transfer during lactation in Trichosurus vulpecula (brushtail possum) Developmental & Comparative Immunology. 2000;24(5):491–502. doi: 10.1016/S0145-305X(00)00012-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Adamski FM, King AT, Demmer J. Expression of the Fc receptor in the mammary gland during lactation in the marsupial Trichosurus vulpecula (brushtail possum) Molecular Immunology. 2000;37(8):435–444. doi: 10.1016/S0161-5890(00)00065-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Arnould JPY, Hindell MA. The composition of Australian fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) milk throughout lactation. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 1999;72(5):605–612. doi: 10.1086/316702. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Atramentowicz M. Optimal litter size: Does it cost more to raise a large litter in Caluromys philander? Canadian Journal of Zoology. 1992;70(8):1511–1515. doi: 10.1139/z92-208. - DOI

Grants and funding

The authors received no funding for this work.