Clever way to croak

VIRUSES could be tailormade to kill cane toads, with scientists unlocking the genetic code of the toxic amphibians.

An international team of researchers has announced the breakthrough, which will help close key knowledge gaps and accelerate research into the infamous hopping pest.

The group, from UNSW Sydney, the University of Sydney, Deakin University, Portugal and Brazil, deciphered more than 90 per cent of the cane toad’s genes using technology to sequence long pieces of its DNA. The findings have been published in scientific journal GigaScience today.

Since the poisonous species was introduced into Australia on to a farm south of Cairns in 1935, they have conquered most of the continent