CRISPR/Cas9-Based Gene Drive Could Suppress Agricultural Pests

Researchers have developed a “homing gene drive system” based on CRISPR/Cas9 that could be used to suppress populations of Drosophila suzukii vinegar flies – so-called “spotted-wing Drosophila” that devastate soft-skinned fruit in North America, Europe and parts of South America – according to new research from North Carolina State University. The NC State researchers developed dual CRISPR gene drive systems that targeted a specific D. suzukii gene called doublesex, which is important for sexual development in the flies. CRISPR stands for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats” and Cas9 is an enzyme that performs like molecular scissors to cut DNA. CRISPR systems are derived from bacterial immune systems that recognize and destroy viruses and other invaders, and are being developed as solutions to problems in human, plant and animal health, among other uses.

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