Lyko, 2017

Lyko F. 2017. Ein Krebs für die Krebsforschung. Biologie in unserer Zeit 47(3): 172–177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biuz.201710620

Abstract

Marmorkrebs (or marbled crayfish) is a triploid crayfish known since the mid-1990s, which reproduces parthenogenetically. It originated from the North American decapod species Procambarus fallax and was distributed as a popular aquarium pet. Subsequent anthropogenic releases have resulted in the establishment of several stable populations in the wild that constitute a serious invasive threat. Interestingly, marbled crayfish use a parthenogenetic mode of reproduction that results in the generation of clones with minimal genetic variation. In addition, the animals can be easily bred and manipulated in the laboratory. These features establish marbled crayfish as a novel and innovative model organism for tumor biology, particularly for the analysis of clonal evolution and epigenetic adaptation of tumor genomes.

Keywords: Marmorkrebs • tumor biology • clonal evolution • epigentics

(Note: The main text of the article is in German. Keywords are translated from German.)