UM atUM [S03-ep04]: Contagious 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 show, Maylis Labonne and Franck Ferraton give us a tour of the sclerochronology platform at the Marbec Laboratory. The show airs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. onDivergence FM 93.9.
A few months ago, the program *AUM science* devoted an episode to oyster vaccination. This week, we return to the fascinating world of bivalves to discuss, this time, cancer in mussels. I can see you smiling, but the subject couldn’t be more serious: while all multicellular organisms are susceptible to developing 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 insight into the evolution of oncological mechanisms; contrary to popular belief, cancer is not a recent disease, and its origins date 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 ability to be transmitted.
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In the second half of the program, we’ll take you on a tour of the sclerochronology lab at Marbec, accompanied by Maylis Labonne and Franck Ferraton, who are able to “read” fish otoliths and shark vertebrae to determine their age or even trace the paths they’ve traveled. It’s true detective work, and today they’ll give us a glimpse into it…
AtUM , you’ve got the schedule—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Aline Périault
Director: Tom Chevalier
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