Dr. Ylenia Chiari holds a small white-and-yellow gecko in her lab at the University of Nottingham, but this isn't an ordinary reptile. The creature — a lemon frost gecko — develops aggressive tumors in 80% of all individuals. Now, Chiari and her team believe this tiny, tumor-prone gecko might help scientists understand cancer in a whole new way.
The lemon frost gecko is a striking variety with pale yellow and white coloring that arose from a random genetic mutation during breeding. Within years of appearing in the pet trade, breeders noticed something troubling: many of these geckos were developing tumors that often spread throughout their bodies. Now, new research published in the journal BMC Biology reveals why — and suggests the gecko could become a powerful tool for fighting human cancer.
Unlike traditional lab animals like mice, which must have tumors deliberately induced for research, lemon frost geckos develop tumors completely naturally and at relatively early ages. This gives scientists a rare window into how cancer actually arises and spreads in a living creature, without needing to force the disease to appear.
"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," Chiari said. "Specifically, this gecko could become an incredible model for cancer research because tumors appear naturally at a relatively early age."
The research team included scientists from five institutions across three countries: Chiari and doctoral researcher Brandon Hastings from the University of Nottingham in the UK; Dr. Scott Glaberman from the University of Birmingham; Dr. Tony Gamble from Marquette University in Wisconsin; Dr. Robert Ossiboff from the University of Florida; and Virginia Gazziero and Dr. Giulio Caravagna from the University of Trieste in Italy.
Using whole-genome sequencing — a technique that reads the complete genetic code — the researchers compared tumor tissue with healthy tissue from the same geckos. They discovered specific genetic changes that repeatedly appeared in the tumors. Many of these changes affected the same genes and biological processes involved in human cancers, suggesting findings from these geckos could apply far beyond reptiles.
Glaberman pointed out that this research highlights a broader lesson about biodiversity. "We often look inward to solve human problems, but every species has something to teach us," he said. "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."
The team hopes that by understanding how cancer develops in this gecko — and why some species like turtles and tortoises rarely get cancer — scientists might eventually develop new approaches for preventing, detecting, and treating cancer in humans. It's a small reptile with a potentially enormous contribution to make.