Sex bias in ability to cope with cancer: Tasmanian devils and facial tumour disease.

ABSTRACT: Knowledge of the ecological dynamics between hosts and pathogens during the initial stages of disease emergence is crucial to understanding the potential for evolution of new interspecific interactions. Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) populations have declined precipitously owing to infection by a transmissible cancer (devil facial tumour disease, DFTD) that emerged approximately 20 years ago. Since the emergence of DFTD, and as the disease spreads across Tasmania, the number of devils has dropped up to 90% across 80% of the species's distributional range. As a result, the disease is expected to act as a strong selective force on hosts to develop mechanisms of tolerance and/or resistance to the infection. We assessed the ability of infected devils to cope with infection, whic

SUBMITTER: Ruiz-Aravena M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6253378 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature