Featured Articles

Pest control gets the CRISPR treatment

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Seydel, C.,  Nature Biotechnology,  2024.
In June 2024, the St. Louis–based pest control company Agragene released genetically modified fruit flies on berry farms in California and Oregon, moving the technology out of the laboratory and into contained field testing. The trial marked a milestone for a next-generation ...

The potential of gene drives in malaria vector species to control malaria in African environments

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Hancock, P.A., North, A., Leach, A.W. et al.,  Nature Communications,  15. 2024.
Gene drives are a promising means of malaria control with the potential to cause sustained reductions in transmission. In real environments, however, their impacts will depend on local ecological and epidemiological factors. We develop a data-driven model to investigate the ...

Professor Abdoulaye Diabaté’s frank conversation with Bill Gates

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African Media Agency,  2024.
On October 2, 2024, Professor Abdoulaye Diabaté, a prominent figure in malaria research and Head of Medical Entomology at Burkina Faso’s Research Institute in Health Sciences, gained international attention by appearing in the Netflix documentary series "What’s Next? The ...

Advancements and Future Prospects of CRISPR-Cas-Based Population Replacement Strategies in Insect Pest Management

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Zhao Y, Li L, Wei L, Wang Y, Han Z.,  Insects,  15. 2024.
Many insects are categorized as agricultural pests due to their ability to transmit diseases and damage crops, which results in significant economic losses. Scientists have proposed two main pest control strategies: population suppression, aimed at reducing the size or ...

Non-Mendelian transmission of X chromosomes: mechanisms and impact on sex ratios and population dynamics in different breeding systems

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Sally Adams; Andre Pires-daSilva,  Biochemical Society Transactions,  2024.
The non-Mendelian transmission of sex chromosomes during gametogenesis carries significant implications, influencing sex ratios and shaping evolutionary dynamics. Here we focus on known mechanisms that drive non-Mendelian inheritance of X chromosomes during spermatogenesis and ...

Mark–Release–Recapture (MRR) of Sterile Male Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in Sri Lanka: Field Performance of Sterile Males and Estimation of the Wild Mosquito Population Density

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Hapugoda, Menaka, Nilmini Silva Gunawardena, Tharaka Ranathunge, Jeremy Bouyer, Hamidou Maiga, Kankanige Karunathilake, Gayan Parakrama Withanage, Indika Weerasinghe, Bazoumana B. D. Sow, and Jeevanie Harishchandra,  Insects,  15:466. 2024.
Dengue is an important mosquito-borne disease in Sri Lanka. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly and novel method that can suppress dengue vector mosquitoes in Sri Lanka. This study aimed to evaluate the field performance of sterile males and the density ...

Comparing the long-term persistence of different Wolbachia strains after the release of bacteria-carrying mosquitoes

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Jose L. Orozco-Gonzales, Antone dos Santos Benedito, Daiver Cardona-Salgado et al.,  Mathematical Biosciences,  372. 2024.
This paper proposes a bidimensional modeling framework for Wolbachia invasion, assuming imperfect maternal transmission, incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility, and direct infection loss due to thermal stress. Our model adapts to various Wolbachia strains and retains all ...

Altering traits and fates of wild populations with Mendelian DNA sequence modifying Allele Sails

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Michelle L. Johnson, Bruce A. Hay, Maciej Maselko,  Nature Communications,  15. 2024.
Population-scale genome editing can be used to alter the composition or fate of wild populations. One approach to achieving these aims utilizes a synthetic gene drive element—a multi-gene cassette—to bring about an increase in the frequency of an existing allele. However, the ...

Talking About Gene Drive in Uganda: The Need for Science Communication to Underpin Engagement

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Hartley, S., Stelmach, A., Opesen, C., Openjuru, G. L., and Neema, S.,  Science Communication,  2024.
Uganda may host the world’s first field trials of gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control. Global North discourses pre-suppose African publics have access to information about gene drive and are ready to make decisions about its governance. We explore assumptions about the ...

The organizational structure of global gene drive research

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Florian Rabitz,  Global Environmental Change,  84. 2024.
Gene drives are a proposed method for large-scale in situ genetic engineering.

Effectiveness evaluation of mosquito suppression strategies on dengue transmission under changing temperature and precipitation

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Kaihui Liu, Shuanghui Fang, Qiong Li, et al.,  Acta Tropica,  2024.

Efficacy of Wolbachia-mediated sterility to reduce the incidence of dengue: a synthetic control study in Singapore

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Jue Tao Lim, Somya Bansal*, Chee Seng Chong*, Borame Dickens, Youming Ng, Lu Deng, Caleb Lee, Li Yun Tan, Grace Chain, Pei Ma, Shuzhen Sim, Cheong Huat Tan, Alex R Cook, Lee Ching Ng,  The Lancet Microbe,  2024.
Our study comprised an at-risk population of 607 872 individuals living in intervention sites and 3 894 544 individuals living in control sites. Interventions demonstrated up to 77·28% (121/156, 95% CI 75·81–78·58) intervention efficacy despite incomplete coverage ...

Meiotic drive against chromosome fusions in butterfly hybrids

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Jesper Boman, Christer Wiklund, Roger Vila, Niclas Backström,  bioRxiv,  2024.
Species frequently differ in karyotype, but heterokaryotypic individuals may suffer from reduced fitness. Chromosomal rearrangements like fissions and fusions can thus serve as a mechanism for speciation between incipient lineages but their evolution poses a paradox. How does ...

Recombinant venom proteins in insect seminal fluid reduces female lifespan

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Samuel J. Beach, Maciej Maselko,  bioRxiv,  2024.
The emergence of insecticide resistance has increased the need for alternative pest management tools1,2 Numerous genetic biocontrol approaches, which involve the release of genetically modified organisms to control pest populations, are in various stages of development to provide ...

Perspectives of African stakeholders on gene drives for malaria control and elimination: a multi-country survey

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Finda, M.F., Juma, E.O., Kahamba, N.F. et al.,  Malaria Journal,  22:8384. 2023.
Gene drive modified mosquitoes (GDMMs) have the potential to address Africa’s persistent malaria problem, but are still in early stages of development and testing. Continuous engagement of African stakeholders is crucial for successful evaluation and implementation of these ...

Engineering mice for female-biased progeny without impacting genetic integrity and litter size

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Ido Yosef, Tridib Mahata, Yuhuang Chen, Hadas Bar-Joseph, Ruth Shalgi, Ariel Munitz, Motti Gerlic, Udi Qimron,  bioRxiv,  2023.
Generating mammalian gametes with a skewed sex ratio has thus far eluded empirical confirmation. The utilization of such genetically engineered organisms would offer the potential to curtail the necessity for culling animals of undesirable sex, mitigate resource wastage, and ...

Framing Challenges and Opportunities for Canada: Expert Panel on Regulating Gene-Edited Organisms for Pest Control

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CCA (Council of Canadian Academies),  Framing Challenges and Opportunities for Canada,  2023.
Gene-editing technologies are changing approaches to pest management. Rapidly evolving but unproven gene-editing tools could potentially mitigate the impacts of pests in public health, conservation, and agricultural contexts. The use of these tools, however, is accompanied by ...

Transformative Novel Technologies and Global Environmental Governance

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F. Rabitz,  Cambridge University Press,  2023.
Transformative Novel Technologies are potential gamechangers for confronting climate change, biodiversity loss, and many other elements of the global environmental crisis, allowing us to achieve a more sustainable future. The contemporary and future international governance of ...

Symbiotic Wolbachia in mosquitoes and its role in reducing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases: updates and prospects

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A. Minwuyelet, G. P. Petronio, D. Yewhalaw, A. Sciarretta, I. Magnifico, D. Nicolosi, R. Di Marco and G. Atenafu,  Frontiers in Microbiology,  14. 2023.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, chikungunya, Zika fever, and filariasis have the greatest health and economic impact. These mosquito-borne diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Due to the ...

Biotechnological Potential of Microorganisms for Mosquito Population Control and Reduction in Vector Competence

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R. D. Katak, A. M. Cintra, B. C. Burini, O. Marinotti, J. A. Souza-Neto and E. M. Rocha,  Insects,  14. 2023.
Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that cause human diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, Zika fever, and filariasis. Biotechnological approaches using microorganisms have a significant potential to control mosquito populations and reduce their vector ...

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