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Maxizyme-mediated suppression of chikungunya virus replication and transmission in transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

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Mishra P, Balaraman V, Fraser Jr. M,  Frontiers in Microbiology,  14. 2024.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen of significant public health importance. There are currently no prophylactic vaccines or therapeutics available to control CHIKV. One approach to arbovirus control that has been proposed is the replacement of ...

Mass-Rearing Conditions Do Not Always Reduce Genetic Diversity: The Case of the Mexican Fruit Fly, Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

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Ruiz-Montoya L, Sánchez-Rosario M, López-Gómez E, Garcia-Bautista M, Canedo-Texón A, Haymer D, Liedo P,  Insects,  15:56. 2024.
The application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) requires the adaptation of insects to mass-rearing conditions. It is generally accepted that this adaptation may include a reduction in genetic diversity and an associated loss of desirable characteristics for the effective ...

Wolbachia still works when it is warm

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McKay, A.,  Nature Ecology and Evolution,  8. 2024.
Wolbachia is a maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacterium that can impede the transmission of viruses such as dengue and Zika by some mosquito vectors to humans. Over the past decade, this self-sustaining disease-control method has been rolled out in cities of increasing size; ...

Gene drive and genetic sex conversion in the global agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata

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Meccariello, A., Hou, S., Davydova, S. et al.,  Nature Communications,  15:372. 2024.
Homing-based gene drives are recently proposed interventions promising the area-wide, species-specific genetic control of harmful insect populations. Here we characterise a first set of gene drives in a tephritid agricultural pest species, the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis ...

Programmed evolution: Using asexual gene drives to sculpt tumor populations and combat genetic diversity

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Justin Pritchard, Scott Leighow, Joshua Reynolds et al.,  Research Square,  2024.
Resistance evolution is responsible for the failure of most targeted anticancer therapies. Tumor heterogeneity is so profound that pre-existing resistance is thought to be guaranteed at the time that advanced disease is detected. The practice of waiting for treatment failure and ...

Sex or poison? Genetic pest management in the 21st century

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Luke Alphey,  BMC Biology,  21:289. 2024.
Pests do enormous damage to human and animal health, to agriculture and to biodiversity, with mosquitoes transmitting pathogens, insect larvae eating crops or invasive rodents threatening the last island refuges of endangered birds. This commentary focuses on insects, ...

Limited association between Wolbachia and Plasmodium falciparum infections in natural populations of the major malaria mosquito Anopheles moucheti

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Théo Mouillaud, Audric Berger, Marie Buysse, Nil Rahola, Josquin Daron, Jean-Pierre Agbor, Sandrine N. Sango, Daniel E. Neafsey, Olivier Duron, Diego Ayala,  Evolutionary Applications,  16:1999-2006. 2024.
Since the discovery of natural malaria vector populations infected by the endosymbiont bacterium Wolbachia, a renewed interest has arisen for using this bacterium as an alternative for malaria control. Among naturally infected mosquitoes, Anopheles moucheti, a major malaria ...

The mosquito knows no borders: Regional challenges for global confrontation in the dengue battle

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Barçante JMdP, Cherem J,  PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  18. 2024.
Dengue fever is a neglected disease with a global impact, and its incidence and geographical reach are rapidly expanding. Global warming marked by higher average temperatures, precipitation, and longer periods of drought could prompt a record number of dengue fever infections ...

Consultation on a draft National Gene Drive Policy Guide

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Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Health and Aged Care),  National Gene Technology Scheme,  2024.
The term gene drive is used to describe organisms which have been genetically modified to increase the rate for a particular trait to spread through a sexually reproducing population, spreading the genes or traits through a species at a faster rate than normal inheritance. ...

Editorial overview: Conflicts, conflicts everywhere

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Harmit S Malik, Judith E Mank,  Current Opinion in Genetics and Development,  83. 2023.
Genetic conflicts are pervasive in biology. They arise when genes, sets of genes, or chromosomes enhance their success at significant cost to their genetic neighbors. In some cases, conflicts occur when a ‘cheater’ subverts the rules of genetic inheritance, pitting the ...

Gene drives, mosquitoes, and ecosystems: An interdisciplinary approach to emerging ethical concerns

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Ricardo D. Moreno, Luca Valera, Cristián Borgoño, Juan Carlos Castilla, José Luis Riveros,  Frontiers in Environmental Science,  11. 2023.
Gene drives are genetic elements that in sexually reproducing organisms spread faster than those transmitted through a Mendelian fashion. Since gene drives can be engineered to modify different aspects of physiology and reproduction, they have been proposed as a new and ...

Antiviral Wolbachia strains associate with Aedes aegypti endoplasmic reticulum membranes and induce lipid droplet formation to restrict dengue virus replication

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Robson K. Loterio, Ebony A. Monson, Rachel Templin, Jyotika T. de Bruyne, Heather A. Flores, Jason M. Mackenzie, Georg Ramm, Karla J. Helbig, Cameron P. Simmons, Johanna E. Fraser,  Applied and Environmental Microbiology,  2023.
Wolbachia are a genus of insect endosymbiotic bacteria which includes strains wMel and wAlbB that are being utilized as a biocontrol tool to reduce the incidence of Aedes aegypti-transmitted viral diseases like dengue. However, the precise mechanisms underpinning the antiviral ...

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 ...

Wolbachia infection negatively impacts Drosophila simulans heat tolerance in a strain- and trait-specific manner

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Liam F Ferguson, Perran A Ross, Belinda van Heerwaarden,  bioRxiv,  2023.
The susceptibility of insects to rising temperatures has largely been measured by their ability to survive thermal extremes. However, until recently, the capacity for maternally inherited endosymbionts to influence insect heat tolerance has been overlooked. Further, the impact of ...

Rapid turnover of pathogen-blocking Wolbachia and their incompatibility loci

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Shropshire JD, Conner WR, Vanderpool D, Hoffmann AA, Turelli M, Cooper BS.,  bioRxiv,  2023.
At least half of all insect species carry maternally inherited Wolbachia alphaproteobacteria, making Wolbachia the most common endosymbionts in nature. Wolbachia spread to high frequencies is often due to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a Wolbachia -induced sperm modification ...

Upper Bound on the Mutational Burden Imposed by a CRISPR-Cas9 Gene-Drive Element

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Michael S. Overton, Sean E. Guy, Xingsen Chen, Alena Martsul, Krypton Carolino, Omar S. Akbari, Justin R. Meyer, Sergey Kryazhimskiy,  bioRxiv,  2023.
CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives (CCGDs) are powerful tools for genetic control of wild populations, useful for eradication of disease vectors, conservation of endangered species and other applications. However, Cas9 alone and in a complex with gRNA can cause double-stranded DNA breaks at ...

Assessing the sterility and quality of gamma-irradiated pepper weevils, Anthonomus eugenii (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), toward the development of the sterile insect technique

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Basso, J.V., Labbe, R. and Scott-Dupree, C.,  Pest Management Science,  2023.
The pepper weevil (PW), Anthonomus eugenii, is an economically significant pest of cultivated Capsicum spp. pepper crops in North America where it remains a challenge to manage because of its cryptic immature life stages. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a genetic pest ...

Procesos celulares modificados en Aedes aegypti infectados con Wolbachia y la susceptibilidad al virus dengue

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López-Ordóñez T, Díaz-Rodarte KI, Torres-Monzón JA, Casas-Martínez M, Danis-Lozano R, Mosso-González C.,  Salud Pública de México,  2023.
Objetivo: Analizar la expresión diferencial de proteínas de Aedes aegypti infectados con Wolbachia y su asociación con el ciclo viral del virus dengue (DENV). Material y métodos. Se revisó una base de datos de proteínas de Ae. aegypti infec-tados y no infectados con ...

Side effects of X-ray irradiation on flight ability of Cydia pomonella moth

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Huang, S.-W., Zhang, J.-H., Wei, Z.-H., Yang, X.-M., Wang, X.-Y. and Yang, X.-Q.,  Pest Management Science,  2023.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) has proven to be an effective approach in managing the population of major invasive pests Our previous studies showed that irradiation of males at a dosage of 366 Gy X-rays resulted in complete sterility. However, the mating competitiveness of ...

Aerial release of Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes using an unmanned aerial vehicle: a novel control strategy

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Valdez-Delgado KM, Ríos-Delgado JC, Nettel-Cruz JA, Angulo-Kladt R, Villarreal-Treviño C.,  Salud Pública de México,  65. 2023.
Objective. To development of a methodology for the chilling, handling, transport, and release of male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, reared in insectary conditions to release in the field with unmanned vehicles to compete sexually with wild males in the field. Materials and methods. A ...

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