Colossal Foundation and University of Tasmania Take On the Contagious Cancer Devastating Wild Tasmanian Devil Populations

Both strains are nearly always fatal. The Colossal Foundation has partnered with the University of Tasmania to fight devil facial tumor disease, a contagious cancer that has driven wild devil populations down by roughly 80 percent since it was first identified in 1996. Immunologist Andrew Flies is developing an oral vaccine to teach the devil’s immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells, while researchers explore editing LZTR1, a gene tied to two unusual mutations found only in devils, to build natural resistance.

Before any treatment can be tested in an endangered devil, a safe stand-in is needed. The fat-tailed dunnart fits. A close evolutionary cousin of the devil, the dunnart will anchor a dedicated colony being established in Hobart by the Colossal Foundation using breeding and husbandry protocols originally built to bring back the thylacine. The same genome-editing and stem-cell tools are now being redirected to keep a living species from disappearing.

This story is based on original reporting by Green Matters Staff for Green Matters. Read the full feature on Green Matters → https://www.greenmatters.com/big-impact/save-tasmanian-devil-contagious-cancer