Cancer and One Health: tumor-bearing individuals can act as super
spreaders of symbionts in communities
Abstract
Recent theoretical advances in the One Health approach propose that
greater attention should be paid to cancer pathologies due to their
potential to render hosts more susceptible to infectious agents,
potentially transforming them into super-spreaders within ecosystems.
However, this hypothesis lacks experimental validation. Using a
community of Hydra species and a commensal ciliate species (Kerona
pediculus) that colonizes them, we tested whether tumoral polyps of H.
oligactis, compared to healthy ones, played an amplifying role in
ciliate load, potentially resulting in higher likelihood of infection
for other community members through spillovers. Results revealed a
higher proliferation rate of ciliates on tumoral polyps compared to
healthy ones, leading to infection of other hydras, albeit with varying
spillover magnitudes among recipient species. This study is the first
proof of concept that tumoral individuals within communities could act
as super-spreaders of symbionts within and between species, influencing
biotic interactions and dynamics in ecosystems.