Researchers develop plant gene drive system for enhanced trait inheritance

Researchers develop plant gene drive system for enhanced trait inheritance

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Anonymous,  Scientific Inquirer,  2024.

A collaborative research team led by QIAN Wenfeng from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Peking University has developed a plant gene drive system called CRISPR-Assisted Inheritance utilizing NPG1 (CAIN), which, according to the researchers, uses a toxin-antidote mechanism in the male germline to override Mendelian inheritance in plants.

Their findings were published in Nature Plants.

In nature, gene inheritance typically follows Mendel’s laws, which provide an equal chance for alleles to pass on to the next generation—a cornerstone of Darwinian natural selection. However, super-Mendelian inheritance allows certain genes to be inherited at rates greater than the expected 50%, potentially allowing these genes to spread through populations even if they are detrimental to organisms. This mechanism opens the door to manipulating natural populations by introducing alleles that benefit humans even if they harm plant organisms themselves, or to eliminating species that are considered detrimental to human interests.