Tasmanian devils have developed a degree of genetic resistance to a virulent contagious facial cancer in just four to six generations.

Credit: Menna Jones

Andrew Storfer at Washington State University in Pullman and his colleagues sequenced about one-sixth of the genome for 294 devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) from 3 wild populations. The authors used samples collected both before and after the groups first encountered the facial cancer.

The team found five genes spread across two regions of the genome that showed strong signs of selection, including a large number of single-DNA-base changes, throughout the devil populations. Two of the genes, CD146 and THY1, are known to help the immune system to recognize foreign cells in other animals.

Nature Commun. 7, 12684 (2016)