e researchers said.
“Our study suggests hope for the survival of the Tasmanian devil in the face of this devastating disease,” said study author Andrew Storfer in a Washington State University news release. He is a professor of biology there, and worked on the study with an international team of scientists.
The two small genomic regions identified showed changes after the appearance of the disease. The researchers said these areas may be associated with cancer and immune function, but further study is needed to confirm that.
Study co-author Paul Hohenlohe is an assistant professor of biology at the University of Idaho. “If a disease comes in and knocks out 90 percent of the individuals, you might predict the 10 percent who survive are somehow genetically different. What we were looking for were the parts of the genome that show that difference,” Hohenlohe said.
Since its discovery 20 years ago, DFTD has killed about 80 percent of Tasmanian devils, which are found wild only on the island of Tasmania, Australia.
The study was published Aug. 30 in the journal Nature Communications.
More information
The Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service has more on the Tasmanian devil.
SOURCE: Washington State University, news release, Aug. 30, 2016
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