Engineering speciation events in insects may be used to control harmful pests
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University of Minnesota,
Phys Org,
2020.
Species typically evolve over the course of eons, but researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a way to do it in less than a year. A team of scientists led by Mike Smanski, Ph.D., in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) has generated speciation events in fruit flies so that engineered strains can reproduce normally with each other, but mating with unmodified flies results in non-viable offspring. This research, published in Nature Communications, provides the foundations for scientists to be able to prevent genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from reproducing with wild organisms. Additionally, the research will allow scientists to develop new tools to control populations of disease carrying insects and invasive species in a highly targeted fashion. “Speciation is a fundamental process that drives how life evolves on this planet. Gaining engineering control over speciation will impact our ability to control pests that spread disease, harm crops or degrade the environment,” said Smanski, a study author and professor in CBS. “This is one of several new approaches to pest control using modern genome-editing tools to essentially convert the pest organism into the pesticide. Any time our engineered flies attempt to reproduce with wild flies, there are no offspring. This allows it to function like a genetically-encoded birth control for pest organisms.” More related to this: When Evolution Fights Back Against Genetic Engineering Anticipating complexity in the deployment of gene drive insects in agriculture Irreversible ecosystem engineering with Gene Drive Organisms Gene flow mediates the role of sex chromosome meiotic drive during complex speciation
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