Tasmanian Devil with Facial Tumour Disease. Credit: Menna Jones
By Rich Bowden:
There is renewed hope for the survival of the iconic Tasmanian Devil as scientists have decoded the genetic marker for the facial cancer which is threatening the species’ existence.
Researchers have been working to isolate the origin of the facial tumour which has seen of the Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) population reduced by between 20 and 50 percent, bringing it to the edge of extinction. The Devil, which is only found on the southern Australian island state of Tasmania was declared an endangered species in May 2009.
Now scientists, reporting in Science magazine, have found the most likely origin of the deadly facial tumour disease (DFTD) is in Schwann cells, a tissue that protects nerve fibres. The international team of scientists working on the mission to save the devils have said the discovery will allow a diagnostic test to be developed which will allow field workers to identify which of the animals have the disease allowing immediate culling.
The new development will also allow scientists to isolate the deadly DFTD tumour from other cancers to which the devils are susceptible.
Professor Greg Woods, a researcher at the Menzies Research Unit in Hobart, discovered the link along with a team of scientists from New York and Melbourne. He said the identification of the origin of the tumour was an important step in the battle against the disease.
“Basically we did some genetic analysis to discover that the tumour is actually about the peripheral nerve cell, called the Schwann cell,” he said.
“We are now much more confident in understanding what the tumour cell is and this will help in the development of treatments and strategies to combat this disease,” Associate Professor Woods told news.com.au.
Co-author of the research paper Tony Papenfuss, who is a bioinformatics researcher at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne outlined the importance of the breakthrough.
“This is the first application of genetics to estimate the basic biology of the tumor,” he says . “And we’ve produced a set of tools that can push that information further.”
Scientists will use the breakthrough to now focus on an effective vaccine against the disease. For more information or to make a donation to the Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal, see here.
