Pet gecko offers promising model for cancer research breakthroughs

A new study, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, suggests a pet gecko with an unusually high risk of tumors may be a promising model for understanding how cancer develops and spreads.

The findings of the study, which are published in BMC Biology, could help to explain why some animals frequently get cancer and others rarely do.

While some reptiles, such as turtles and tortoises, rarely develop cancer, one colour variety of the leopard gecko, known in the pet trade as the “lemon frost” morph, develops aggressive tumors in 80% of individuals. This new research has identified genomic changes associated with this cancer, some affecting the same genes and biological processes involved in human cancers.

The study was led by Dr Ylenia Chiari from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham.

The research was carried out by an international team including PhD researcher Brandon Hastings (University of Nottingham), Dr Scott Glaberman (University of Birmingham), Dr Tony Gamble (Marquette University), Dr Robert Ossiboff (University of Florida), and Virginia Gazziero and Dr Giulio Caravagna (University of Trieste).

By studying why some animals are so susceptible to cancer while others are remarkably resistant, we hope to uncover the different ways species have evolved to deal with cancer. Specifically, this gecko could become an incredible model in cancer research because tumors appear naturally at a relatively early age. Together, these natural strategies could inspire new ways of preventing, detecting, and treating cancer in humans.”

Dr. Ylenia Chiari, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham

The lemon frost gecko is a striking white-and-yellow colour variety that arose from a spontaneous genetic mutation during selective breeding in a large colony of leopard geckos. Soon after it appeared in the pet trade, breeders noticed that many of these geckos developed aggressive tumors that often spread throughout the body.

Unlike traditional laboratory models for cancer research such as mice, which typically require tumors to be induced, lemon frost geckos develop tumors – which often metastasize – naturally relatively early in life. This gives scientists a rare opportunity to investigate how cancer arises, evolves, and spreads in an animal that develops the disease naturally.

Using whole-genome sequencing, the researchers compared tumor tissue with healthy tissue from the same geckos. They discovered a series of genomic changes that repeatedly occurred in the tumors. Many of the affected genes and biological processes are known to play important roles in cancer in other organisms, including humans, suggesting that lemon frost geckos could provide insights that reach far beyond reptiles.

The study also highlights the importance of expanding the range of animal models used in medical research, showing how species that naturally develop cancers at high rates, such as the lemon frost gecko, can complement traditional laboratory models.

Bandon Hastings, one of the authors of the paper said: “Overall, our paper demonstrates the importance of looking across the tree of life in search of answers that are needed to better understand diseases that can have a profound impact on human life, such as cancer. Methodologically, it also highlights that the variety of genomic software programs developed to analyse human cancers can be adapted to provide meaningful insights in diverse organisms.”

Dr Scott Glaberman, from the University of Birmingham, who was also involved in the study, said: “We often look inward to solve human problems, but every species has something to teach us. By studying both animals that are vulnerable to cancer and those that resist it, we have far greater power to understand the disease itself. This is one of the many reasons why protecting biodiversity is so important.”