Towards an understanding of the genetic basis behind 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) tolerance and an investigation of the candidate gene ACO2

JE Deakin; DW Cooper; JJ Sinclair; CA Herbert; MB Renfree; M Wakefield

Journal article

Towards an understanding of the genetic basis behind 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) tolerance and an investigation of the candidate gene ACO2

JE Deakin, DW Cooper, JJ Sinclair, CA Herbert, MB Renfree, M Wakefield

Australian Journal of Zoology | CSIRO PUBLISHING | Published : 2013

DOI: 10.1071/ZO12108

Abstract

Sodium fluoroacetate, commonly referred to as 1080, is a pesticide heavily used to control vertebrate pests. The development of tolerance to this poison by target species is a critical concern raised by its intensive use. Tolerance to 1080 is common amongst many native vertebrates in south-west Western Australia and is thought to be the result of a long period of coevolution with plant species that produce 1080 in their seeds and flowers. Among those vertebrate species tolerant to 1080 exposure is a subspecies of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). Tammars from Western Australia are tolerant while the subspecies present on Kangaroo Island is susceptible to 1080 exposure. The availability ..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Marilyn Renfree Author

Matthew Wakefield Author

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

Some of the research presented here represents the work Des Cooper was pursuing towards the end of his career. His contribution to the tammar wallaby genome project, the development of a tissue culture assay and the linkage approach represent his substantial contributions to the field of 1080 tolerance. We thank Kia Bailey, James Cook and Jan Nedved for help with the University of New South Wales tammar wallaby colony, and Scott Brownlees and Bonnie Dopheide for help with the Melbourne University colony. We thank Becky Choi for her work on the tissue culture assay, Auda Eltahla for help with primer design, and Stephen Frankenberg for in silico identification of the ACO2 sequence from the wallaby genome assembly. Work on 1080 resistance in the tammar wallaby was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant to DWC (DPO851844) and was also part of the work of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Kangaroo Genomics.