Journal article
Telomere Dynamics and Homeostasis in a Transmissible Cancer
B Ujvari, AM Pearse, R Taylor, S Pyecroft, C Flanagan, S Gombert, AT Papenfuss, T Madsen, K Belov
Plos One | Published : 2012
Open access
Abstract
Background: Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a unique clonal cancer that threatens the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) with extinction. This transmissible cancer is passed between individual devils by cell implantation during social interactions. The tumour arose in a Schwann cell of a single devil over 15 years ago and since then has expanded clonally, without showing signs of replicative senescence; in stark contrast to a somatic cell that displays a finite capacity for replication, known as the "Hayflick limit". Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study we investigate the role of telomere length, measured as Telomere Copy N..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
[ "This research was funded by the Eric Guiler Fund (Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal): http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/Grants-&-scholarships/F3F98304778C800ECA2576CB007D1E6B, and the Australian Research Council: http://www.arc.gov.au/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.", "We are grateful to Kate Swift, Pamela Hodson and Bobby Hua for providing the lysed tumour cell line samples. We thank the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program and researchers from the School of Zoology at the University of Tasmania for collecting samples. We are grateful to Dr. Gabriele Saretzki and two anonymous reviewers for their comments, which have led to substantial improvements to this manuscript. KB is supported by an ARC Future Fellowship. ATP is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship. ATP's contribution was made possible through Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and NHMRC IRIISS." ]