Transmission of devil facial-tumour disease

Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. PO Box 46, Kings Meadows, Tasmania 7249, Australia e-mail: [email protected]

Supplementary information accompanies this communication on Nature's website.

Received 27 September 2005; accepted 17 January 2006.

doi:10.1038/439549a

Nature 439(7076):p 549, February 2, 2006.

An uncanny similarity in the karyotype of these malignant tumours means that they could be infective.