Heh--according to the article, there are 3 transmissible cancers, and you named 2 of them. ... Wow, I find this kind of astonishing.
The tumor cells are themselves the infectious agents, and the tumors that form are not genetically related to the host dog. Although the genome of CTVT is derived from a canid (probably a dog, wolf or coyote), it is now essentially living as a unicellular, asexually reproducing (but sexually transmitted) pathogen. Sequence analysis of the genome suggests it diverged from canids over 6,000 years ago; possibly much earlier. However, the most recent common ancestor of extant tumors is more recent: it probably originated 200 to 2,500 years ago.
Heh--according to the article, there are 3 transmissible cancers, and you named 2 of them. ... Wow, I find this kind of astonishing.
The tumor cells are themselves the infectious agents, and the tumors that form are not genetically related to the host dog. Although the genome of CTVT is derived from a canid (probably a dog, wolf or coyote), it is now essentially living as a unicellular, asexually reproducing (but sexually transmitted) pathogen. Sequence analysis of the genome suggests it diverged from canids over 6,000 years ago; possibly much earlier. However, the most recent common ancestor of extant tumors is more recent: it probably originated 200 to 2,500 years ago.
Very interesting. Thank you for mentioning it.