Assessment of virally vectored autoimmunity as a biocontrol strategy for cane toads.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The cane toad, Bufo (Chaunus) marinus, is one of the most notorious vertebrate pests introduced into Australia over the last 200 years and, so far, efforts to identify a naturally occurring B. marinus-specific pathogen for use as a biological control agent have been unsuccessful. We explored an alternative approach that entailed genetically modifying a pathogen with broad host specificity so that it no longer caused disease, but carried a gene to disrupt the cane toad life cycle in a species specific manner.

Methodology/principal findings

The adult beta globin gene was selected as the model gene for proof of concept of autoimmunity as a biocontrol method for cane toads. A previous report showed injection of bullfrog tadpoles with adult beta globin resulted in an a

SUBMITTER: Pallister JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3026784 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature