Table 1.

Experimental Animal Models of UV-induced melanomagenesis.

Model Organism	Advantages	Disadvantages
Monodelphis domestica (Gray short-tailed opossum)	Marsupial; intermediate phylogenetic distance Capable of photoreactivation; experimental removal of UV-induced DNA damage Whole genome sequenced	Not amenable to inbreeding; outbreed stocks only Dermal melanophores only, no epidermal melanocytes Dissimilar histopathology to humans; melanoma of dermal origin only that rarely metastasize
HGF-SF mice	Mammal; least phylogenetic distance Excellent laboratory breeder; easy husbandry Broad distribution of melanocytes; located in the dermis, dermal-epidermal junction, basal epidermis Similar histopathology to humans; dermal-epidermal melanomas and metastatic melanomas Whole genome sequenced	Not capable of photoreactivation Transgenic animal Spontaneous melanomas are of dermal origin only; do not resemble the human condition
Sp-Couchianus backcross fish (Xiphophorus hybrid)	Capable of photoreactivation Easy to obtain and maintain large sample sizes for experimentation Melanocytes found in the epidermis and at the dermal-epidermal junction Similar histopathology to humans; dermal-epidermal melanomas and highly invasive melanomas Well characterized genetics; including the involvement of RTKs and CDKs in melanomagenesis	Teleost fish; great phylogenetic distance Internal fertilization; Not amenable to genetic manipulation Whole genome not sequenced