ARTICLES
We’ve Cracked the Cane Toad Genome (continued)
Viral control
As the cane toads continue their advance; across the Australian
landscape, this milestone piece of research should help us put a
few more roadblocks in their path.
Current measures such as physical removal have not been
successful in preventing cane toads from spreading, so fresh
approaches are needed. One option may be to use a virus to
help control the toad population.
Authors:
Peter White: is a Professor in Microbiology and Molecular Biology,
UNSW;
Viruses including myxomatosis have been successfully used
to control rabbits, but all the cane toad viruses studied so far
are also infectious to native frogs, so the new genome could
potentially be very helpful for scientists hunting for viruses that
attack only the cane toads.
Alice Russo: is a PhD candidate, UNSW;
Rick Shine: is a Professor in Evolutionary Biology, University of
Sydney.
In a study published this month, we and some other colleagues
describe how we sampled genetic sequences from cane toads
from different Australian locations, and have found three viruses
that are genetically similar to viruses that infect frogs, reptiles
and fish. These viruses could potentially be used as biocontrol
agents, although only after comprehensive testing to ensure that
they pose no danger to any other native species.
Disclosure Statement: Rick Shine receives funding from the
Australian Research Council.
This article was first published in ‘The Conversation’ on 20th
September, 2018.
SEN and the Science Teachers’ Association of NSW are most
grateful to ‘The Conversation’ for its generous policy of encouraging
the republishing of its many fine articles.
The full cane toad genome will help to accelerate this kind of
research, as well as research on the toads’ evolution and its
interactions with the wider ecosystem. The published sequence
is freely available for anyone to use in their studies. It is one of
very few amphibian genomes sequenced so far, so this is also
great news for amphibian biologists in general.
We also thank the authors, Prof. Peter White, Alice Russo and
Prof. Rick Shine for supplying this article, thereby supporting this
policy.
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 4