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Conference Announcement!!

Gordon Research Conference

May 19-24,2024

GENETIC BIOCONTROL

Castelldefels, Spain

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Frequently Asked Questions

How will mosquitoes with gene drive be tested?

What hazards are associated with gene drives?

How can gene drives control insect-borne diseases?

Can genetic biocontrol help solve other global problems?

How can genetic biocontrol serve public health?

What is genetic biocontrol?

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Genetic Control of Insects in Africa

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Opinions and Perspectives on Gene Drive Technologies

A video produced by Save Our Seeds.

Informational Videos

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GeneConvene Webinars

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Genetic Biocontrol: An Overview

Gene Drive Basics

The Concept of Gene Drive

How to Make a Gene Drive Mosquito

Genetic Biocontrol

Engineered Gene Drives

Natural Gene Drives

Wolbachia Biology, Mechanisms and Applications

The Latest About Gene Drive and Genetic Biocontrol

The GeneConvene Virtual Institute is built on a database of content in the categories shown in the tab labels below. Content coming into the Virtual Institute in these categories can be seen in each tab as well as all of the content in each of the categories, organized chronologically.

Measuring the Impact of Genetic Heterogeneity and Chromosomal Inversions on the Efficacy of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Drives in Different Strains of Anopheles gambiae

Pescod, Poppy Bevivino, Giulia Anthousi, Amalia Shelton, Ruth Shepherd, Josephine Lombardo, Fabrizio Nolan, Tony, The CRISPR Journal, 2023.

The human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae is becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides, spurring the development of genetic control strategies. CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives can modify a population by creating double-stranded breaks at highly specific targets, triggering copying of the gene drive into the cut site (?homing?), ensuring its inheritance. The DNA repair mechanism responsible requires homology between the donor and recipient chromosomes, presenting challenges for the invasion of laboratory-developed gene drives into wild populations of target species An. gambiae species complex, which show high levels of genome variation. Two gene drives (vas2-5958 and zpg-7280) were introduced into three An. gambiae strains collected across Africa with 5.3?6.6% variation around the target sites, and the effect of this variation on homing was measured. Gene drive homing across different karyotypes of the 2La chromosomal inversion was also assessed. No decrease in gene drive homing was seen despite target site heterology, demonstrating the applicability of gene drives to wild populations.

More related to this:

Female meiotic drive shapes the distribution of rare inversion polymorphisms in Drosophila melanogaster

Extensive Recombination Suppression and Epistatic Selection Causes Chromosome-Wide Differentiation of a Selfish Sex Chromosome in Drosophila pseudoobscura

General principles of single-construct chromosomal gene drive

Introgression of the Aedes aegypti red-eye genetic sexing strains into different genomic backgrounds for sterile insect technique applications

Molecular and chromosomal studies on the origin of t-haplotypes in mice

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Scholarly Literature.

Scholarly Literature

This is an aggregation of scholarly literature from peer-reviewed journals, bioRxiv , medRxiv and arXiv preprint serversfocused on natural and engineered selfish genetic elements and genetic biocontrol. New citations are added as they appear. This content is intended for anyone interested in the scholarly literature on gene drive and genetic biocontrol.

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	Development and characterization of microsatellite markers for the tsetse species Glossina brevipalpis and preliminary population genetics analyses F. Gstöttenmayer, P. Moyaba, M. Rodriguez, F. C. Mulandane, H. N. Mucache, L. Neves, C. De Beer, S. Ravel, T. De Meeûs, R. L. Mach, M. J. B. Vreysen and A. M. M. Abd-Alla, Parasite, 30:34. 2023. Tsetse flies, the vectors of African trypanosomes are of key medical and economic importance and one of the constraints for the development of Africa. Tsetse fly control is one of the most effective and sustainable strategies used for controlling the disease. Knowledge about ...
	Measuring the Impact of Genetic Heterogeneity and Chromosomal Inversions on the Efficacy of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Drives in Different Strains of Anopheles gambiae Pescod, Poppy Bevivino, Giulia Anthousi, Amalia Shelton, Ruth Shepherd, Josephine Lombardo, Fabrizio Nolan, Tony, The CRISPR Journal, 2023. The human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae is becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides, spurring the development of genetic control strategies. CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives can modify a population by creating double-stranded breaks at highly specific targets, triggering copying ...
	Mimicking superinfection exclusion disrupts alphavirus infection and transmission in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti Reitmayer, Christine M. Levitt, Emily Basu, Sanjay Atkinson, Barry Fragkoudis, Rennos Merits, Andres Lumley, Sarah Larner, Will Diaz, Adriana V. Rooney, Sara Thomas, Callum J. E. von Wyschetzki, Katharina Rausalu, Kai Alphey, Luk, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120:e2303080120. 2023. Multiple viruses, including pathogenic viruses, bacteriophages, and even plant viruses, cause a phenomenon termed superinfection exclusion whereby a currently infected cell is resistant to secondary infection by the same or a closely related virus. In alphaviruses, this process ...
	MGDrivE 3: A decoupled vector-human framework for epidemiological simulation of mosquito genetic control tools and their surveillance A. Mondal, C. H. M. Sanchez and J. M. Marshall, bioRxiv, 2023.09.09.556958. 2023. We present MGDrivE 3 (Mosquito Gene Drive Explorer 3), a new version of a previously-developed framework, MGDrivE 2, that investigates the spatial population dynamics of mosquito genetic control systems and their epidemiological implications. The new framework incorporates three ...

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Perspectives

This is a curated collection of scholarly and non-scholarly materials that can be found in the Scholarly Literature and Media Coverage databases that are ‘opinion-heavy’. This collection is intended to capture the full range of thought and opinion about gene drive technologies.

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	Unleashing the swarm: Battling the global mosquito menace and defending public health J. Entine and S. Moxon, Genetic Literacy Project, 2023. There is one solution embraced by global health experts that should be pursued aggressively, if with some caution. Scientists in real-world trials have altered the genomes of entire animal populations, including mosquitoes, to thwart the vectoring of diseases and control pests ...
	Guerrilla eugenics: gene drives in heritable human genome editing A. D. Cutter, J Med Ethics, 2023. CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing can and has altered human genomes, bringing bioethical debates about this capability to the forefront of philosophical and policy considerations. Here, I consider the underexplored implications of CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives for heritable human genome ...
	Malaria Cases In U.S. Trigger Unfounded Claims About Bill Gates, Mosquito Project B. Y. Lee, Forbes, 2023. When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert about finding four malaria cases in Florida and one malaria case in Texas, it created quite a buzz. After all, these were the first reported cases of people actually catching malaria in the U.S. since ...
	Off Target: Gene Drives and the Balance of Life Save Our Seeds, 2023. This is a compilation of conversations with experts about gene drive technologies and the science/social questions it raises.

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Media Coverage

This is a database of print and digital media coverage of gene drive technologies and genetic biocontrol-related topics. This database is intended to serve experts and non-experts by capturing how gene drive/genetic biocontrol technologies and issues around the technologies are being represented, discussed, debated and evaluated by publics.

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	Could a new gene-editing technique be a major breakthrough in the battle against malaria? B. Cottam, GEOGRAPHICAL, 2023. The idea is that since female mosquitoes typically only mate once, the mass release of the sterile male mosquitoes should prevent wild females from producing future generations. Insect populations can and have already been successfully suppressed by the release of sterilised ...
	Buzzing breakthrough: genetic engineering gives mosquito control an upgrade Sivasubbu, Sridhar Scaria, Vinod, The Hindu, 2023. Throughout human history, mosquitoes have constantly buzzed in the background of human existence, irritating us with their incessant bites and occasionally wreaking havoc by transmitting deadly diseases. The earliest known mosquitoes from the fossil record date back at least 70 ...
	Can Gene-Drives Combat Vector-Borne Diseases? Anonymous, tomorrow.bio, 2023. Scientists, technophiles, and the medical community are abuzz with a topic that sounds like science fiction: gene-drives. Given the growing fear of vector-borne diseases, wouldn’t it be marvelous if we could meddle with genetics to drive vectors like mosquitoes to extinction? ...
	How genetically modifying mosquitoes could strengthen the world’s war on malaria S. Oliver and J. Raman, The Conversation, 2023. Mosquitoes can be genetically modified through two different technologies. The first method, paratransgenesis, involves infecting mosquitoes with bacteria that prevent them from transmitting malaria. This doesn’t harm the mosquito. It is important not to eliminate or harm ...

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Risk, Regulation, and Policy

This is a collection of scholarly works, government and non-government documents and reports related to policy, risk assessment, and regulation of gene drive/genetic biocontrol technologies.

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	Bioinformatic and literature assessment of toxicity and allergenicity of a CRISPR-Cas9 engineered gene drive to control Anopheles gambiae the mosquito vector of human malaria A. Qureshi and J. B. Connolly, Malaria Journal, 22:234. 2023. Population suppression gene drive is currently being evaluated, including via environmental risk assessment (ERA), for malaria vector control. One such gene drive involves the dsxFCRISPRh transgene encoding (i) hCas9 endonuclease, (ii) T1 guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the doublesex ...
	Proposed Changes to the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines) National Institutes of Health, Federal Register, 2023. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks input on a proposal to revise the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules (NIH Guidelines) to include specific considerations and requirements for conducting research involving gene drive ...
	Guerrilla eugenics: gene drives in heritable human genome editing A. D. Cutter, J Med Ethics, 2023. CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing can and has altered human genomes, bringing bioethical debates about this capability to the forefront of philosophical and policy considerations. Here, I consider the underexplored implications of CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives for heritable human genome ...
	Draft environmental assessment for use of Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique for the suppression of nonnative southern house mosquito populations on Kauaʻi Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2023. The State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources hereby transmits the Draft Environmental Assessment and Anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact (DEAEnvironmental Assessment for use of Wolbachia-based Incompatible Insect Technique for the suppression of ...

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Webinars

A curated collection of webinarspertaining to gene drive/genetic biocontrol technologies.

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	Emerging Gene Drive Applications David O'Brochta, , 2023. Gene drive systems are being engineered in the laboratory and in some cases shown to be effective at rapidly altering target-gene frequencies in experimental populations. Much of this foundational work has been conducted in insects in the laboratory. This webinar series will ...
	Wolbachia Biology, Mechanisms and Applications 2022 David O'Brochta, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022. Intracellular and extracellular symbiotic/commensal bacteria have enormous potential when manipulated and deployed appropriately to serve as agents of control of insects and the pathogens they transmit. Wolbachia, an intracellular bacteria, is a well studied system and one that ...
	Laboratory Containment of Arthropods Capable of Gene Drive: Best Practices and Recommendations Hector Quemada, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022. This webinar is presented by members of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's American Committee of Medical Entomologists who were involved in drafting a recent Addendum to the ASTMH's Arthropod Containment Guidelines that specifically consider arthropods with ...
	Demystifying the Convention on Biological Diversity Hector Quemada and David O'Brochta, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international agreement aimed at providing the legal framework for country cooperation to conserve biodiversity, while also enabling its sustainable use, and providing for fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from ...

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Videos

Video

A curated collection of videos pertaining to gene drive/genetic biocontrol technologies. Included are videos and recorded webinars.

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	Off Target: Gene Drives and the Balance of Life Save Our Seeds, 2023. This is a compilation of conversations with experts about gene drive technologies and the science/social questions it raises.
	Worldwide Experts on Gene Drives Save Our Seeds, 2023. We are travelling the world speaking to some of the world's leading thinkers, activists and academics on the impact of gene drives. Join us for this video series as we hear from a diverse range of experts on one of the most controversial new emerging technologies that we face.
	Ethical dilemma: Should we get rid of mosquitoes? Talya Hackett, TED-Ed, 2023. Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths every year than any other animal, but very few of the 3,500 mosquito species actually transmit deadly diseases to humans. Scientists have been conducting experiments using engineered technologies called gene drives that could ...
	Discovery of 119-Million year old Selfish Genes Casts Doubt on Established Evolution Beliefs Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 2022. Meiotic drivers, a kind of selfish gene, are indeed selfish. They are found in virtually all species’ genomes, including humans, and unjustly transfer their genetic material to more than half of their offspring, resulting in infertility and impaired organism health. Their ...

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Podcasts

A curated collection of podcasts pertaining to gene drive/genetic biocontrol technologies.

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	Introducing Emerging Health Technologies in Africa Health Tech Africa, Health Tech Africa Podcast, 2023. In this episode, the Project Director of the Platform for Dialogue and Action on Health Technologies in Africa, Professor Richard Mukabana, discusses new technologies that if well developed and proven safe and effective, have enormous potential to eradicate disease on the ...
	Genetically-Modified Mosquitos Could Soon Be Released in California A. Madrigal, KQED, 2022. Millions of genetically-modified, non-biting mosquitoes may soon be set loose in California after federal regulators gave the green light to a study aimed at preventing transmission of diseases like Zika and dengue. British biotech firm Oxitech says its technology alters male ...
	Will genetic modification of mosquitoes take a bite out of insects’ population? N. Patel, KCRW, 2022. An invasive species of aggressive “ankle biters” called the Aedes aegypti mosquito is now in LA, and it’s spreading quickly. These tiny vampires can lay eggs in a space as small as a water-filled bottle cap, and they carry diseases like yellow fever and dengue. A British ...
	An army of genetically engineered mosquitoes is about to be released M. Menard, KNX NEWS, 2022. A British biotech company has been altering the DNA of mosquitoes with the goal of killing off a more dangerous breed capable of spreading deadly diseases. And now they’re preparing to release their “friendly mosquitoes” into the wild. In California. Aedes aegypti is an ...

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Infographics

A curated collection of infographics related to gene drive technologies.

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	How We’re Reducing Disease With Genetically Modified Mosquitoes V. Wise, HealthMatch, 2022. We all know mosquitoes as those annoying insects we swat away from our faces. They carry diseases, so we don’t want them anywhere near us. There are over 200 types of wild mosquitoes bugging us across America and the U.S. territories. Approximately 12 types can spread disease, ...
	Using Gene Drive to Control Malaria The Scientist, The Scientist, 2016. This article provides illustrations for how gene drive works, how gene drives spread, and how gene drive could be used to control malaria using population-wide gene knockout, skewed sex ratio, and population-wide gene knock-in techniques. Visit the article to view all ...
	What is Gene Drive? Entomological Society of America, 2015. A fact sheet from the Entomological Society of America.

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Projects, Programs and Companies

in the genetic biocontrol space

African Genetic Biocontrol Consortium

The AGBC is committed to contributing and expanding research, development, and use of genetic biocontrol approaches to control and eliminate malaria and other vector-borne diseases in Africa.

Conference Announcement!!

May 19-24,2024

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