Institutional development · Research, innovation and assessment · Japan
Kyoto-led team screens 96 island species' genes for cane toad toxin resistance
A Kyoto University and University of the Ryukyus team used published genetic data to screen native wildlife on Ishigaki and Iriomote islands for possible resistance to the toxic invasive cane toad.
Why it matters: The team presents its screen of 96 native species on Ishigaki and Iriomote as a first step and a basis for more detailed toxin-resistance assessment.
Kyoto University said the cane toad, a strongly toxic invasive species that can poison native predators, has become established on several Japanese islands including Ishigaki, while intruding toads have repeatedly been found and removed on Iriomote.
According to the university, a group including Arisa Tobe and Miho Murayama of its Wildlife Research Center and Masako Izawa of the University of the Ryukyus reviewed earlier studies and screened public genetic data, obtaining usable information for 96 of the 185 native land vertebrates on the two islands.
The university reported that many species, including the Iriomote cat, carried the ancestral sequence at sites linked to toxin sensitivity, while the black-faced spoonbill, grey-faced buzzard and crested serpent eagle showed amino acid substitutions suggested to relate to resistance.
The researchers said it is not yet known whether the variants truly raise resistance or whether the ancestral form truly means vulnerability; the work appeared online in the Swiss journal Genes on 15 October 2026.
Editor’s view
Scott James, Research and Innovation Editor
The screen covered 96 of 185 native land vertebrates on Ishigaki and Iriomote, and the team says the work shows both the potential and the limits of genetic screening for conservation, serving as a foundation for future detailed resistance evaluation.
