Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Cancer Ageing and Somatic Mutation Programme, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Phylogenomics Lab, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
Ana Pequeño-Valtierra
Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Camila F Roman-Lewis
CINBIO, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
Juana Alonso
CINBIO, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain; Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Vigo, Spain
Rosana Rodriguez
Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, ECIMAT, Vigo, Spain
Damian Costas
Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, ECIMAT, Vigo, Spain
Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Antonio Villanueva
Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, ECIMAT, Vigo, Spain
Luis Silva
Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Cádiz, Cádiz, Spain
Laboratori d’Investigacions Marines i Aqüicultura, (LIMIA) - Govern de les Illes Balears, Port d'Andratx, Balearic Islands, Spain; Instituto de Investigaciones Agroambientales y de Economía del Agua (INAGEA) (INIA-CAIB-UIB), Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
ECOMARE, Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Santiago University Campus, Aveiro, Portugal
CINBIO, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain; Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Vigo, Spain; Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
Juan Jose Pasantes
Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Immunology, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain; Centro de Investigación Mariña, Universidade de Vigo, Vigo, Spain
Genomes and Disease, Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Department of Zoology, Genetics and Physical Anthropology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Clonally transmissible cancers are tumour lineages that are transmitted between individuals via the transfer of living cancer cells. In marine bivalves, leukaemia-like transmissible cancers, called hemic neoplasia (HN), have demonstrated the ability to infect individuals from different species. We performed whole-genome sequencing in eight warty venus clams that were diagnosed with HN, from two sampling points located more than 1000 nautical miles away in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea Coasts of Spain. Mitochondrial genome sequencing analysis from neoplastic animals revealed the coexistence of haplotypes from two different clam species. Phylogenies estimated from mitochondrial and nuclear markers confirmed this leukaemia originated in striped venus clams and later transmitted to clams of the species warty venus, in which it survives as a contagious cancer. The analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences supports all studied tumours belong to a single neoplastic lineage that spreads in the Seas of Southern Europe.
