Science at UM [S03-ep04]: Transmissible cancer in mussels
This week, Erika Burioli from the Host-Pathogen-Environment Interactions (IHPE) laboratory talks to us about the transmissible cancer affecting mussels. In the second part of the program, Maylis Labonne and Franck Ferraton take us on a tour of the sclerotology platform at the Marbec laboratory. The program is broadcast every Wednesday at 6 p.m. onDivergence FM 93.9.
A few months ago, UM Science devoted a program to oyster vaccination. This week, we return to the fascinating world of bivalves to discuss mussel cancer. I can see you smiling, but this is a very serious subject: while all multicellular organisms are susceptible to cancer, bivalves have a unique characteristic: some of their cancers are transmissible. This evolution of the cancerous process, which is also found in dogs and Tasmanian devils, is of great interest to researchers. Why? Because it provides information about the evolution of oncological mechanisms; contrary to popular belief, cancer is not a recent disease and its appearance dates back several thousand or even millions of years.
In their latest study, Erika Burioli and her team at the IHPE were able to provide the first transcriptomic profiling of a cancer that is characterized by its transmissibility.
To go further:
In the second part of the program, we take you on a tour of the sclerotiming laboratory at Marbec, accompanied by Maylis Labonne and Franck Ferraton, who manage to make fish otoliths and shark vertebrae "talk" in order to determine their age and even trace the paths they have traveled. Today, they reveal to us their work, which is truly detective work...
At UM Science, you have the program, so let's get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Production: Tom Chevalier
Listen to the program “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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