The Biology of an Oncogene, Based upon Studies on Neoplasia in Xiphophorus

Abstract

Xiphophorus, including swordtails and platyfish, is a genus of small viviparous freshwater fish from Central America that serves increasingly as a laboratory animal [1]. For 25 years we have used Xiphophorus for studies on neoplasia, which can easily be induced in hybrids between descendants of different provenance [2]. Although neoplasia of these animals is rather well understood in terms of formal genetics, the molecular basis of this phenomenon was extremely resistant to any elucidation. Recently a promising approach to the study of neoplasia in Xiphophorus at the molecular level, has been undertaken in a co-operative work of the laboratories of H. Bauer (Institut für Virologie, Giessen), W. and H. Kersten (Institut für Physiologische Chemie, Erlangen), S. Nishimura (National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo), and our laboratories. The present review will trace some steps of our studies that led to the detection of a cellular oncogene and a prominent regulatory gene.