Stegastes partitus (Bicolor Damselfish) RNA sequencing of selected tumor and healthy tissues
The bicolor Damselfish, Stegastes partitus, has been the focus of biomedical research due to the high natural incidence of a transmissible cancer affecting the peripheral nervous system and pigment cells of this species and the unusual nature of the etiologic agent. These tumors are characterized as neurofibromas, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors and chromatophoromas. This disorder has been termed damselfish neurofibromatosis (DNF) because the plexiform neurofibromas in affected fish exhibit a similar histology to the hallmark lesions of Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) in humans. While a wide variety of naturally occurring and induced tumors in animals have been shown to be transmissible, DNF is the only naturally occurring tumor affecting either Schwann cells or pigment cells.