Gene expression profiling of postnatal lung development in the marsupial gray shorttailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) highlights conserved developmental pathways and specific characteristics during lung organogenesis

After a short gestation, marsupials give birth to immature neonates with lungs that are not fully developed and in early life the neonate partially relies on gas exchange through the skin. Therefore, significant lung development occurs after birth in marsupials in contrast to eutherian mammals such as humans and mice where lung development occurs predominantly in the embryo.