"Why Do Whales Exist? Cancer Resistance in Mammals" - WCUB, ENWW
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP
Abstract
Exploring the ideas behind Peto's paradox and how mammal groups have evolved cancer resistance alongside life history traits.
Investigating; i) genomic work exploring the evolution of cancer-associated gene redundancy and mutation in mammals, driving morphology and metabolism; ii) some sub-cellular modelling of cancer-associated proteins and networks to understand the implications of genetic change on physiology (ROS production etc.); iii) in vitro experiments on mammalian cells inc. collection Exploring the ideas behind Peto's paradox and how mammal groups have evolved cancer resistance alongside life history traits.
BBSRC Priority areas:
Data driven biology and also Exploiting New Ways of Working
Investigating; i) genomic work exploring the evolution of cancer-associated gene redundancy and mutation in mammals, driving morphology and metabolism; ii) some sub-cellular modelling of cancer-associated proteins and networks to understand the implications of genetic change on physiology (ROS production etc.); iii) in vitro experiments on mammalian cells inc. collection Exploring the ideas behind Peto's paradox and how mammal groups have evolved cancer resistance alongside life history traits.
BBSRC Priority areas:
Data driven biology and also Exploiting New Ways of Working
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/M011224/1 | 01/10/2015 | 31/03/2024 | |||
| 1810131 | Studentship | BB/M011224/1 | 01/10/2015 | 09/12/2020 |
| Description | I have developed a novel quantitative model to estimate cancer risk in mammals, utilising coalescence theory and metabolic scaling. Results from the computational simulations support the hypothesis that a lower metabolic rate per unit mass results in lower cancer lifetime risk of cancer incidence, and provides testable hypotheses on the impact genomic redundancy and other genetic alterations may have on cancer resistance. Likewise, in-depth genomic analyses on the published genomes of several large mammals have highlighted several cancer-associated genes that have either been duplicated, undergone parallel/convergent evolution with other large mammals (but not more closely related, albeit smaller mammals), or otherwise been strongly positively selected for solely in those groups. |
| Exploitation Route | Now that we've identified several cancer-associated genes that are likely key to lowering cancer incidence in large mammals, we're assessing their efficacy with a series of cell culture experiments. Cell lines are to be derived from large mammal tissues, including from several cetacean species, and i) used to isolate required genetic material for the production of engineered mouse iPSCs; and ii) be used directly in culture exposure experiments to quantify how efficient they are, compared to other species / wild-type cells, at preventing cancer. |
| Sectors | Other |