Evolution in a transmissible cancer: a study of the chromosomal changes in devil facial tumor (DFT) as it spreads through the wild Tasmanian devil population

Pearse, Anne Maree; Swift, Kate; Hodson, Pamela; Hua, Bobby; McCallum, Hamish; Pyecroft, Stephen; Taylor, Rennae S.; Eldridge, Mark D. B.; Belov, Katherine

doi:10.1016/j.cancergen.2011.12.001

Cited by 76 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Live tumour cells are immediately transferred into liquid transport medium (RPMI 1640 and 10% fetal calf serum-Sigma-Aldrich 0.2 ml of penicillin-streptomycin solution and 2 mg ml 21 amphotericin B) and transported within 48 h to the Mt Pleasant Diagnostic Laboratories in Launceston, Tasmania for cell culture and karyotype analyses. Tumour cell culture and cytogenetic analyses were undertaken as described by Pearse et al [31]. Fine needle aspirates were centrifuged to separate the tumour cells.…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response

et al. 2015

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Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a clonally transmissible cancer threatening the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) with extinction. Live cancer cells are the infectious agent, transmitted to new hosts when individuals bite each other. Over the 18 years since DFTD was first observed, distinct genetic and karyotypic sublineages have evolved. In this longitudinal study, we investigate the associations between tumour karyotype, epidemic patterns and host demographic response to the disease. Reduced host population effects and low DFTD infection rates were associated with high prevalence of tetraploid tumours. Subsequent replacement by a diploid variant of DFTD coincided with a rapid increase in disease prevalence, population decline and reduced mean age of the population. Our results suggest a role for tumour genetics in DFTD transmission dynamics and epidemic outcome. Future research, for this and other highly pathogenic emerging infectious diseases, should focus on understanding the evolution of host and pathogen genotypes, their effects on susceptibility and tolerance to infection, and their implications for designing novel genetic management strategies. This study provides evidence for a rapid localized lineage replacement occurring within a transmissible cancer epidemic and highlights the possibility that distinct DFTD genetic lineages may harbour traits that influence pathogen fitness.

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Section: Materials and Methods (A) Field Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response

et al. 2015

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“…The endangered Tasmanian devil can acquire an infectious cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), from individuals biting one another (17). This disease was first reported in 1996 and is 100% fatal to the devils.…”

Section: General Characteristics Of Various Kinds Of Cancers Are Uncomentioning

confidence: 99%

Cancer in the parasitic protozoans Trypanosoma brucei and Toxoplasma gondii

Lun

Lai

Wen

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Cancer is a general name for more than 100 malignant diseases. It is postulated that all cancers start from a single abnormal cell that grows out of control. Untreated cancers can cause serious consequences and deaths. Great progress has been made in cancer research that has significantly improved our knowledge and understanding of the nature and mechanisms of the disease, but the origins of cancer are far from being well understood due to the limitations of suitable model systems and to the complexities of the disease. In view of the fact that cancers are found in various species of vertebrates and other metazoa, here, we suggest that cancer also occurs in parasitic protozoans such as Trypanosoma brucei, a blood parasite, and Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate intracellular pathogen. Without treatment, these protozoan cancers may cause severe disease and death in mammals, including humans. The simpler genomes of these single-cell organisms, in combination with their complex life cycles and fascinating life cycle differentiation processes, may help us to better understand the origins of cancers and, in particular, leukemias.

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“…The DFTD clone has been closely monitored during its epidemic sweep through Tasmania ( Fig. 1A) (13)(14)(15)(16).…”

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confidence: 99%

A second transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils

Pye

Pemberton²,

Tovar

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Clonally transmissible cancers are somatic cell lineages that are spread between individuals via the transfer of living cancer cells. There are only three known naturally occurring transmissible cancers, and these affect dogs, soft-shell clams, and Tasmanian devils, respectively. The Tasmanian devil transmissible facial cancer was first observed in 1996, and is threatening its host species with extinction. Until now, this disease has been consistently associated with a single aneuploid cancer cell lineage that we refer to as DFT1. Here we describe a second transmissible cancer, DFT2, in five devils located in southern Tasmania in 2014 and 2015. DFT2 causes facial tumors that are grossly indistinguishable but histologically distinct from those caused by DFT1. DFT2 bears no detectable cytogenetic similarity to DFT1 and carries a Y chromosome, which contrasts with the female origin of DFT1. DFT2 shows different alleles to both its hosts and DFT1 at microsatellite, structural variant, and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci, confirming that it is a second cancer that can be transmitted between devils as an allogeneic, MHC-discordant graft. These findings indicate that Tasmanian devils have spawned at least two distinct transmissible cancer lineages and suggest that transmissible cancers may arise more frequently in nature than previously considered. The discovery of DFT2 presents important challenges for the conservation of Tasmanian devils and raises the possibility that this species is particularly prone to the emergence of transmissible cancers. More generally, our findings highlight the potential for cancer cells to depart from their hosts and become dangerous transmissible pathogens.

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Evolution in a transmissible cancer: a study of the chromosomal changes in devil facial tumor (DFT) as it spreads through the wild Tasmanian devil population

Cited by 76 publications

References 37 publications

Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response

Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response

Cancer in the parasitic protozoans Trypanosoma brucei and Toxoplasma gondii

A second transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils

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