There are only three types of contagious cancers in nature , and the Tasmanian devil ( Sarcophilus harrisii ) has had the misfortune to suffer one of them, mortal of necessity. Called Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), it is transmitted through bites and inevitably kills the individual who has it . Naturalists estimate that the DFTD has wiped out 80% of the population of this carnivorous marsupial, which lives on the Australian island of Tasmania, in the past 20 years. Extinction seemed inevitable.
But there is hope for the species, popularized by the Warner cartoons. An investigation published by the journal Nature Communications , carried out with 294 specimens from three different areas, has detected that two small fragments of their DNA are changing at full speed, and that there are several genes – specifically, seven – related to immunity against tumors in humans . The researchers have reached this conclusion thanks to the fact that they have been able to analyze samples dated between 1999 and 2014 and observe the evolution .
The scourge of facial cancer was discovered shortly before, in 1996, and given the speed at which it was spreading, experts predicted that the Tasmanian devil should have disappeared years ago . The newly discovered mutations would explain its unexpected resistance.
The other two known contagious cancers are the canine venereal tumor , which affects dogs, and another transmitted between North American clams.
