First evidence for the evolution of host manipulation by tumors during the long-term vertical transmission of tumor cells in <i>Hydra oligactis</i>.

ABSTRACT: While host phenotypic manipulation by parasites is a widespread phenomenon, whether tumors, which can be likened to parasite entities, can also manipulate their hosts is not known. Theory predicts that this should nevertheless be the case, especially when tumors (neoplasms) are transmissible. We explored this hypothesis in a cnidarian Hydra model system, in which spontaneous tumors can occur in the lab, and lineages in which such neoplastic cells are vertically transmitted (through host budding) have been maintained for over 15 years. Remarkably, the hydras with long-term transmissible tumors show an unexpected increase in the number of their tentacles, allowing for the possibility that these neoplastic cells can manipulate the host. By experimentally transplanting healthy as well a

SUBMITTER: Boutry J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11879105 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature