Abstract
The Tasmanian devil, a marsupial carnivore, is endangered because of the emergence of a transmissible cancer known as devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). This fatal cancer is clonally derived and is an allograft transmitted between devils by biting. We performed a large-scale genetic analysis of DFTD with microsatellite genotyping, a mitochondrial genome analysis, and deep sequencing of the DFTD transcriptome and microRNAs. These studies confirm that DFTD is a monophyletic clonally transmissible tumor and suggest that the disease is of Schwann cell origin. On the basis of these results, we have generated a diagnostic marker for DFTD and identify a suite of genes relevant to DFTD pathology and transmission. We provide a genomic data set for the Tasmanian devil that is applicable to cancer diagnosis, disease evolution, and conservation biology.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Biomarkers, Tumor / analysis
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Bites and Stings / veterinary
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Cell Differentiation
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Facial Neoplasms / diagnosis
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Facial Neoplasms / genetics
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Facial Neoplasms / pathology
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Facial Neoplasms / veterinary*
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Gene Expression Profiling*
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Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
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Genes, Neoplasm
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Genome, Mitochondrial
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Genotype
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Marsupialia* / genetics
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Membrane Proteins / genetics
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Membrane Proteins / metabolism
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MicroRNAs / genetics
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Microsatellite Repeats
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Myelin Basic Protein / genetics
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Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / diagnosis
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Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / genetics
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Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / pathology
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Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / veterinary*
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Schwann Cells* / physiology
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Sequence Analysis, DNA
Substances
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Biomarkers, Tumor
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Membrane Proteins
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MicroRNAs
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Myelin Basic Protein
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periaxin