Photobiology of Monodelphis domestica

The gray, short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, has been used for ph otobiologic studies since 1984. The presence of a light-activated DNA repai r pathway in the tissues of Monodelphis has been used to identify pyrimidin e dimers in DNA as initiating events for a number of ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-induced pathologies of the skin and cornea, Furthermore, Monodelphis, unlike common laboratory rodents, is susceptible to the induction of melan oma by UVR alone. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.