Delving into the DNA of our iconic platypus and echidna

Monotremes have a mixture of mammalian and reptilian characteristics and are the most distantly related, and least understood group of living mammals.

The genomes of the much-loved egg-laying monotremes, the platypus and echidna, have now been published in the journal Nature, providing a valuable resource for research in mammalian biology and evolution, with applications for their conservation and health.