Brief Communications
Nature 439, 549 (2 February 2006) | doi:10.1038/439549a
Allograft theory: Transmission of devil facial-tumour disease
The Tasmanian devil, a large carnivorous Australian marsupial, is under threat from a widespread fatal disease in which a malignant oral–facial tumour obstructs the animal's ability to feed1. Here we show that the chromosomes in these tumours have undergone a complex rearrangement that is identical for every animal studied. In light of this remarkable finding and of the known fighting behaviour of the devils2, we propose that the disease is transmitted by allograft, whereby an infectious cell line is passed directly between the animals through bites they inflict on one another.
- Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. PO Box 46, Kings Meadows, Tasmania 7249, Australia
Correspondence to: A.-M. Pearse1 Email: anne-maree.pearse@dpiwe.tas.gov.au
Received 27 September 2005; Accepted 17 January 2006
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