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Example sentences for: opossum
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In addition to the hydroxyl amino acid residues, acidic residues may also be an important sequence element for alpha-2 adrenergic receptor phosphorylation and regulation [ 27 28 ] . The region from 300 to 313 in the opossum alpha-2C receptor, which encompasses the EESSTSE motif, is a high acidic region, with 50% (seven of fourteen) of the residues being acidic amino acids (Figure 2).
The opossum alpha-2C adrenergic receptor has a very similar acidic serine motif (EESSTSE) in the third intracellular loop (Figure 1; [ 21 ] ), whereas the human alpha-2C receptor has a DESSAAAE sequence in the same region (Figure 2; [ 22 ] ). Thus, we postulated that the lack of down-regulation in the human alpha-2C was related to having only two rather than four serines in the motif, and furthermore that the ability of the opossum alpha-2C to undergo down-regulation was dependent on having all four serine/threonine residues in the EESSTSE motif.
We have previously shown that norepinephrine pretreatment does not alter the radioligand K d of the opossum alpha-2C adrenergic receptor [ 20 24 ] , thus making it possible to estimate the receptor density with a single concentration of radioligand.
Sixty grams is confirmed as a critical body mass for induction of estrus in juvenile female opossums as identified in our previous study [ 7 ] . Somatic growth and attainment of a threshold body mass or energy reserves are known requisites for puberty in many mammals including the tammar wallaby [ 26 ] , sheep [ 27 28 ] , and several species of rodents [ 1 ] , but these factors seldom act independently of environmental factors such as photoperiod [ 26 27 ] or social cues [ 3 29 ] . The opossum is unusual in this regard, because social cues in the form of male pheromone appear to stimulate both somatic growth and ovarian activation.
Females lack an estrous cycle and anestrous adults are dependent upon direct contact with a non-volatile male pheromone for induction of estrus [ 8 ] . Hormonal control of scentmarking and sexual behavior of this species (hereinafter, opossum) has been described in some detail [ 9 10 ] . Estrus is induced when females nuzzle scentmarks from the androgen-dependent suprasternal (chest) gland [ 10 11 ] . Nuzzling delivers nonvolatile chemical signals to the vomeronasal organ (VNO) [ 12 ] and surgical removal of the VNO prevents induction of estrus by scentmarks alone [ 13 ] , although cautery ablation of the VNO fails to prevent ovarian activation and ovulation in females that are caged with adult males [ 14 ] . While anestrous adults are reliant on male pheromone for reproductive activation, spontaneous postlactational estrus occurs in the absence of direct contact with male pheromone [ 15 ] .
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