Scientists Are Turning to an Unlikely Tiny Marsupial to Help Save Tasmanian Devils

A mouse-sized marsupial called the fat-tailed dunnart is about to take on an unexpectedly important role in the fight to save the Tasmanian devil.

The Colossal Foundation, the nonprofit arm of de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences, has announced a new partnership with the University of Tasmania aimed at combating devil facial tumor disease, a contagious cancer that has devastated Tasmanian devils since it was first discovered in 1996. A second strain appeared in 2014, and the two have helped drive wild devil populations down by roughly 80 percent.

The cancer spreads in an especially difficult way: through biting. Because biting is a natural part of how Tasmanian devils eat, mate, and interact with one another, the disease has been extremely difficult to stop through traditional conservation methods.

The new partnership plans to tackle the problem from two directions. University of Tasmania immunologist Andrew Flies has spent years developing an oral vaccine that could teach the devil’s immune system to identify and destroy tumor cells before they become established.

At the same time, researchers plan to investigate a gene known as LZTR1, which is connected to two unusual mutations found only in devils. Scientists want to determine whether editing the gene could potentially make the animals more naturally resistant to the cancer.

“Devil facial tumour disease is one of the most devastating wildlife diseases on Earth. This contagious cancer is pushing an iconic marsupial toward collapse, with consequences for the ecology of an entire island,” said Matt James, Executive Director of the Colossal Foundation. “Andy Flies and his team at the University of Tasmania have built the most advanced DFTD vaccine pipeline in existence.

“By combining that work with Colossal’s marsupial husbandry, reproductive science, and gene-editing platform, we have a real opportunity to accelerate this effort and give the Tasmanian devil a fighting chance.”

That is where the fat-tailed dunnart enters the picture. Before a vaccine or potential gene edit can be tested in an endangered Tasmanian devil, researchers need a safe stand-in. The dunnart, a close evolutionary relative of the devil, could fill that role.

The Colossal Foundation is helping the University of Tasmania create a dedicated dunnart colony in Hobart, using breeding and husbandry methods originally developed for another ambitious project: Colossal’s work to bring back the thylacine, better known as the extinct Tasmanian tiger.

The connection makes the effort about more than a single disease. Genome-editing, stem-cell, and reproductive technologies developed as part of efforts to revive an extinct species are now being used to try to stop a living species from disappearing.

“This partnership reflects exactly why Colossal exists,” said Ben Lamm, Co-Founder and CEO of Colossal.

“Our de-extinction programs are fueling the development of entirely new biological tools and platforms. In Australia, the work we are doing to bring back the thylacine has already helped establish the dunnart as a powerful model for marsupial genomics and reproductive science. We’re now deploying those same technologies against one of the most devastating wildlife diseases on Earth. This is what the conservation power of de-extinction looks like.”

For those who have watched the disease tear through Tasmania for decades, the project also carries deeply personal stakes.

“For nearly thirty years, we have watched DFTD mercilessly take countless devils from the Tasmanian landscape. At Bonorong we've cared for hundreds of Devils as this horrific plague rages on,” said Greg Irons, Director of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. “Anything that gives our devils a real path back deserves our full support.”

With the new collaboration, researchers hope the combination of vaccine development, gene editing, and a tiny marsupial stand-in can finally give Tasmanian devils a better chance at survival.