Whole genome sequences of two canine transmissible venereal tumours (CTVTs) and their hosts derived from The Gambia.. The Evolutionary History of Dogs in the Americas

Canine transmissible venereal tumour (CTVT) is a contagious cancer that is clonally transmitted between dogs via the physical transfer of cancer cells, usually during mating. This cancer first arose from the somatic cells of an early dog that existed thousands of years ago and was genetically similar to modern northern dog breeds like the Siberian husky and Alaskan malamute. We wanted to estimate more precisely its age of origin; we did this using direct measurements of mutation rates based on whole-genome sequences of two CTVT tumours sampled from a non-experimental direct transmission.