Bioengineered cannibal toads may help combat an invasive species in Australia

Controlling one of Australia's worst invasive species may involve genetically engineered

cannibal toads. Cane toads originate from South and Central America, but have spread across much

of Northern Australia since their introduction in 1935 to control cane beetles, destroying crops in

the region. However, once cane toads arrived in the country, they instead became a nuisance

themselves, outcompeting and poisoning native animals, as their numbers grew to over 200 million

These toads are causing severe population declines of local snakes, lizards and marsupials

while contributing to Australia's $25 billion a year invasive species problem. To help solve this, researchers are genetically editing cane toad eggs

to prevent the tadpoles from developing into breeding able adults. Nicknamed Peter Pan toads, because they never grow up

the animals will remain tadpoles for months before eventually dying off. Additionally, while cane toad tadpoles are already known to eat eggs from their own species

the genetically modified animals consume up to three times more eggs than normal tadpoles The Peter Pan toads are also larger and much more aggressive tadpoles Traits scientific trials found result in them eating and completely wiping out new cane toad hatchlings

Experts believe this behavior could reduce populations of the invasive species at their source, breeding grounds

But scaling up this potential solution to the problems posed by cane toads remains difficult

The gene editing process is labor-intensive, requiring thousands of eggs to be individually altered

And since the tadpoles never grow into adults, reproducing them is complicated as well

As scientists work on potential fixes to these challenges, the Northern Territory Government of Australia is voicing cautious support

stating it is open to the novel idea so long as it poses no harm to native wildlife

Initial field trials of the bioengineered animals are scheduled to begin later this year in Western Australia

after a risk assessment is completed. That study will investigate those potential impacts on non-target species, including fish, turtles, and birds that may share the same habitat

Information which will be critical in helping determine whether the Peter Pan toads move from experiment to eventual implementation

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Jack Elmer