Gene Drive in the News
A curated collection of articles from the popular press
Chinese researchers make genetic breakthrough that could change the future of agriculture: ‘Powerful and transformative strategy’
30945Jeremiah Budin, The Cool Down, 2024-07-25 18:38:42.
Chinese scientists have reportedly engineered a way to use gene-editing technology to bypass natural plant behavior and force crops to inherit genes that will make them more resilient and easier to grow, according to Interesting Engineering. "The genetic manipulation of wild plant populations has emerged as a potentially powerful and transformative strategy," the researchers said. The technique involves using CRISPR gene-editing technology to bypass traditional Mendelian inheritance — the process by which genes are passed down through generations — to breed plants with "ideal" genes. The system is known as CRISPR-Assisted Inheritance, or CAIN. "This gene drive-based approach thus seeks to balance crop protection and environmental considerations to minimise the loss of biodiversity while optimising productivity," the researchers wrote. "As we venture into this new frontier in genetic engineering, [CAIN] and other gene drive systems could reshape ecological management and agricultural practices."
Gene Drives Shown to Work in Wild Plants. They Could Wipe Out Weeds.
30936Shelly Fan, Singularity Hub, 2024-07-24 15:57:21.
Henry Grabar has had enough battling knotweed. All he wanted was to build a small garden in Brooklyn—a bit of peace amid the cacophony of city life. But a plant with beet-red leaves soon took over his nascent garden. The fastest growing plant he’d ever seen, it could sprout up to 10 feet high and grow thick as a cornfield. Even with herbicide, it was nearly impossible to kill. Invasive plant species and weeds don’t just ruin backyard gardens. Weeds decrease crop yields at an average annual cost of $33 billion, and control measures can rack up $6 billion more. Herbicides are a defense, but they have their own baggage. Weeds rapidly build resistance against the chemicals, and the resulting produce can be a hard sell for many consumers. Weeds often seem to have the upper hand. Can we take it away? Two recent studies say yes. Using a technology called a synthetic gene drive, the teams spliced genetic snippets into a mustard plant popular in lab studies. Previously validated in fruit flies, mosquitoes, and mice, gene drives break the rules of inheritance, allowing “selfish” genes to rapidly spread across entire species. But making gene drives work in plants has been a headache, in part due to the way they repair their DNA. The new studies found a clever workaround, leading to roughly 99 percent propagation of a synthetic genetic payload to subsequent generations, in contrast to nature’s 50 percent. Computer models suggest the gene drives could spread throughout an entire population of the plant in roughly 10 to 30 generations. Overriding natural evolution, gene drives could add genes that make weeds more vulnerable to herbicides or reduce their pollination and numbers. Beneficial genes can also spread across crops—essentially fast-tracking the practice of cross-breeding for desirable traits.
Former minister wants modified mosquitoes to fight dengue spread
30933Otto Carrington, Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, 2024-07-24 15:53:02.
With this country reporting more dengue cases this year than last year and two dengue deaths reported so far, former health minister Dr Fuad Khan is urging the Government to consider genetically modified mosquitoes to help fight the spread of the disease. Khan, who served as Health Minister for one term, proposed in 2011 that genetically modified (GM) male mosquitoes, which have been successfully used in other countries to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (which cause dengue fever), could be a solution. However, this project never materialised. Speaking on CNC3’s The Morning Brew, Khan again suggested that genetically modified male mosquitoes could be effectively used. “I think that should be looked at again because it has been used successfully in Brazil and Florida.Genetically modified male mosquitoes breeding with female Aedes aegypti is an approach we need to consider. It’s important to find a scientific method to deal with these mosquitoes,” Khan said. He also called for updated legislation to ensure that people are mandated to keep their surroundings clean. He said if they fail to do so, they should be penalised. “It’s crucial to find a scientific way to manage Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Breeding grounds are straightforward. Everyone should maintain their surroundings, and there should be legislation enforcing this. If the insect vector control team finds that you’re not complying with warnings to clean your yard, you’re endangering public safety,” he stated. Khan added, “Spraying doesn’t work effectively because the breeding ground for mosquitoes is in stagnant water and drains. When you spray, you might kill the mosquitoes flying around temporarily, but you don’t address the larvae in the water. Spraying only kills what’s on the surface.”
FILMS: Gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control
30894Sarah Hartley and Tom Law, Gene Drive Governance, 2024-07-09 08:50:21.
Gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control is a short documentary film that is beautifully shot in Uganda and explores Ugandan stakeholders’ hopes for gene drive mosquitoes – a radical new tool that offers a way to eliminate or change the mosquitoes that cause malaria. Uganda is one of the first countries in the world preparing for field trials for gene drive mosquitoes and malaria is the main cause of death in Uganda, so the stakes are high. The film builds on social science research at the University of Exeter in the UK and Makerere University in Uganda and shows how complex it is to govern gene drive.
Re-engineering cancerous tumors to self-destruct and kill drug-resistant cells
30884Pennsylvania State University, Medical Xpress, 2024-07-07 21:20:02.
Treating cancer can sometimes feel like a game of Whac-A-Mole. The disease can become resistant to treatment, and clinicians never know when, where and what resistance might emerge, leaving them one step behind. But a team led by Penn State researchers has found a way to reprogram disease evolution and design tumors that are easier to treat. They created a modular genetic circuit that turns cancer cells into a "Trojan horse," causing them to self-destruct and kill nearby drug-resistant cancer cells. Tested in human cell lines and in mice as proof of concept, the circuit outsmarted a wide range of resistance. The findings were published today, July 4, in the journal Nature Biotechnology. The researchers also filed a provisional application to patent the technology described in the paper. "This idea was born out of frustration. We're not doing a bad job of developing new therapeutics to treat cancer but how can we think about potential cures for more late-stage cancers?" said Justin Pritchard, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Entrepreneurial Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and senior author on the paper. "Selection gene drives are a powerful new paradigm for evolution-guided anticancer therapy. I love the idea that we can use a tumor's inevitability of evolution against it."
New Global Malaria Programme operational strategy calls to accelerate the development and introduction of new tools
30874Lodney Nazaré, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024-07-02 12:43:13.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published its Global Malaria Programme operational strategy 2024–2030. The document builds on the previously adopted Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030, and sets out priorities and key activities needed to support achievement of its ambitious goals. Progress in the fight against malaria has stalled in recent years, and the world is currently off track to meet the GTS 2030 targets. The new operational strategy recognizes that a “business as usual” approach to malaria will not be enough and that “changing the trajectory of current malaria trends will require urgent and concerted efforts across the malaria ecosystem”. Progress has particularly levelled-off in high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where young children and pregnant women living in poverty are most vulnerable. Existing interventions and tools are facing the risk of reduced effectiveness due to quality concerns and biological threats, such as drug and insecticide resistance. These threats are compounded by funding shortfalls and the impacts of climate change, which is affecting the geographical range, seasonality and transmission of malaria.
99% gene transmission possible, China’s CRISPR tool boosts food security
30872Gairika Mitra, Interesting Engineering, 2024-07-02 12:36:50.
Chinese scientists have engineered a solution by which they could bypass natural plant gene inheritance. They aim to deploy a CRISPR-based gene editing system to help the transmission of preferred genes even when they aren’t suitable for a plant. The scientists devised a system that would use both a toxin and an antidote which would directly affect the male plant germline. Through this process, the researchers could overcome the natural Mendelian transmission rate. This can help increase the gene transmission rates up to 99% over two generations.
Chinese scientists find natural selection loophole that could help transform food security
30867Victoria Bela, South China Morning Post, 2024-07-02 12:29:51.
Scientists in China have found a way to bypass natural plant gene inheritance, by using a CRISPR-based gene editing system to boost the transmission of preferred genes even when they are detrimental to a plant. By harnessing a system that uses both a toxin and an antidote to target the male plant germline, the scientists were able to overcome the natural Mendelian transmission rate, achieving gene transmission rates of up to 99 per cent over two generations. “Facing diverse challenges such as threats to food security from agricultural weeds and the environmental crisis of invasive plants, the genetic manipulation of wild plant populations has emerged as a potentially powerful and transformative strategy,” the team wrote in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Plants on Monday.
The race against time to defeat mosquito-borne diseases
30858Michael Peel, Financial Times, 2024-06-28 15:51:06.
Deep in the bowels of Imperial College London’s main campus is a facility known as the insectary. The journey to it, via basement corridors and an entrance that sounds an alarm upon opening, feels like something out of a horror film. Beyond two sets of double doors lies the reason for the security: thousands of the Anopheles mosquito that has long been humanity’s deadliest animal threat. The insects in these temperature-controlled chambers are central to pioneering efforts to use genetic engineering to stop them passing on life-threatening malaria. Federica Bernardini, a research associate, places a hand close to the white mesh sides of a box housing the biting bugs. “I am not going to put it there for long,” Bernardini says, quickly pulling back from the tiny creatures. The Imperial work is part of a global struggle against the intensifying threat of mosquitoes and the destructive pathogens they carry. The first malaria vaccination campaign is being rolled out this year, while researchers are exploring ways to stem disease that are both ingenious and — in the case of genetic engineering — controversial to some. It is part of a wider public health battle against various infectious diseases that have surged in recent years due to environmental change, the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors. The mosquito campaign is a race against the clock. The insects are becoming more resistant to traditional prevention methods, while the climate crisis has opened up new regions where they can thrive.
A New CRISPR-Driven Technology for Gene Drive in Plants
30849Lori Dajose, CalTech, 2024-06-28 11:49:31.
Spreading a specific genetic trait through a population, even if that trait does not benefit those who carry it, is the purpose of a "gene drive." Gene drives can be used for many different applications. These are divided into two broad categories: population modification and population suppression. Population modification can make mosquitos immune to, and therefore unable to spread, malaria, or make a crop more heat-tolerant in anticipation of climate change. Population suppression can be used to bring about local reduction or elimination of a weed or invasive species. But any gene editing program needs to have strict built-in controls to keep the modifications localized to a specific area and to prevent other species from accidentally inheriting modified genes. Now, Caltech researchers have developed a new gene drive technology, called ClvR (pronounced "cleaver"), that can be specifically customized to plant species, preventing accidental gene editing in cross-pollination situations. Crucially, the technology can be designed to be self-limiting, only spreading the desired genes for a limited number of generations, thereby limiting their spread in time and space. The work is the first engineered gene drive in plants and the first to enable species-specific modification as well as the first to act at the level of plant sex cells.
First synthetic gene drive for plants could help eradicate weeds
30846Erik Stokstad, Science, 2024-06-28 11:39:25.
More than a decade ago, a research group used the genome editor CRISPR to put evolution on fast forward, spurring a gene to spread throughout a population of lab-reared fruit flies many times faster than it normally could in nature. Mosquitoes with CRISPR-based “gene drives” came soon after, then mice a few years later—advances that brought a fraught mix of technological promise and ethical complexity. Proponents tout gene drives as a way to prevent insect-borne diseases, wipe out rats and other invasive creatures, and even help prevent extinction of endangered species. But one set of organisms had stood apart from the excitement: plants. Now, geneticists report that synthetic gene drives can work in flora, too. Circumventing a long-standing hurdle, two teams have independently engineered Arabidopsis thaliana, a small mustard popular for lab work, to carry a genetic payload that is inherited by up to 99% of offspring. Modeling suggests a similar gene could permeate a natural plant population in 10 to 30 generations. “What they’ve achieved is pretty amazing,” says Paul Neve, a weed scientist at the University of Copenhagen. “It is clever and innovative.”
Genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria
30493The Naked Scientists, 2024-06-04 17:15:48.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes are taking to the air in an experiment to attempt to curtail malaria in Djibouti. The tiny African nation all but eliminated malaria just over a decade ago. But rising population and urbanisation has seen disease cases skyrocketing again, making it an ideal venue to test the technology, which uses a genetic trick to kill off selectively female mosquitoes; this leaves the males - which don’t bite humans - unharmed to breed and pass on the trait to other members of the species.
Investigating the ecological role of malaria mosquitoes
30358Talya D. Hackett, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024-05-21 20:22:50.
A team of entomologists and ecologists at the University of Ghana have been working with colleagues from the University of Oxford and the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics at the University of Guelph on a groundbreaking project to investigate the potential ecological consequences of reducing the population of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae. This research is a key part of our work at Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium whose aim is to develop new tools to reduce malaria transmission. The “ecological observatory project” studies the ecological interactions between An.gambiae and other species in the local ecosystem, including its larval competitors and predators, adult predators, and plant species that it might visit for sugar meals. By collecting data on the community ecology surrounding these mosquitoes, we can predict the effect, if any, that reducing their numbers could have on the ecosystem.
Where gene drive fits into WHO’s new Global Malaria Programme operational strategy
30354Mouhamed Drabo, Target Malaria, 2024-05-21 19:35:24.
On the 23rd of April 2024, WHO published an updated operational strategy for its Global Malaria Programme for the years 2024-2030. The Global Malaria Programme was initially guided by a strategy intended to cover the years 2016-2030, which served as a framework and guide for efforts to reduce the global malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90% within that period. Since then, a stall in progress has indicated that a different, more intensive approach needs to be taken. WHO’s updated operational strategy, notes that ‘In 2022, there were an estimated 249 million new cases of malaria worldwide, compared to 231 million in 2015.’, indicating that current efforts towards malaria elimination are not effective enough, and that the current framework, which was last revised in 2021, required for a new update.
EPA, USDA, and FDA to Clarify Overlapping Biotechnology Regulatory Frameworks
30347Alan J. Sachs, Jack B. Zietman, The National Law Review, 2024-05-21 18:51:44.
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a joint plan to identify areas of ambiguity, gaps, or uncertainty in their coordinated regulation of biotechnology products. Consistent with a directive issued by President Biden in September 2022, the agencies’ plan identifies specific issues that each has either recently addressed or will work to address to promote such products’ safe use. President Biden’s executive order defined “biotechnology” as “technology that applies to or is enabled by life sciences innovation or product development.” Biotechnology products thus may include organisms (plants, animals, fungi, or microbes) developed through genetic engineering or manipulation, products derived from such organisms, and products produced via cell-free synthesis. These products may, in turn, be regulated under the overlapping statutory frameworks of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act (FFDCA), Plant Pest Act (PPA), Federal Meat Inspection Act, Poultry Products Inspection Act, and more. Therefore, close coordination between EPA, USDA, and FDA is essential to ensure effective and efficient regulation of biotechnology products.
Scientists use gut bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseases
29900CGTN, 2024-05-07 17:04:49.
Chinese scientists have developed a more natural strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases by changing insects' gut microbes, which might be used as an alternative to controversial experiments that see genetically-modified mosquitoes released in Florida. Mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue and Zika, cause several potentially fatal human viral infections. Dengue viruses infect approximately 390 million each year globally. An epidemic survey over the past decade documented frequent dengue outbreaks in Xishuangbanna and Lincang, both in southwest China's Yunnan Province. But few have been reported in neighboring cities of Wenshan and Pu'er. The marked different prevalence stimulated the curiosity of researchers from Tsinghua University and the Yunnan Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Sciences.
Gene drive mosquitoes designed to eliminate malaria – but governance is complex, new film shows
29897Russell Parton, University of Exeter, 2024-05-07 16:59:05.
A radical new biotechnology could eliminate the mosquitoes that cause malaria, but in Uganda – where malaria is the leading cause of death – a lack of information and debate is undermining public debate on the issue. Professor Sarah Hartley’s new research documentary Gene Drive Mosquitoes for Malaria Control, which will be screened at Exeter Phoenix on 29 April, looks at this potentially game-changing technology through conversations with Ugandan stakeholders and explores the complexities of governance. Gene drive mosquitoes are being researched in Uganda by scientists at the Ugandan Virus Research Institute, and could soon be trialled in the wild – making Uganda one of the first countries to do so. Gene drive targets the particular genes in the malaria-transmitting female mosquito, making it unable to reproduce or transmit malaria. But unlike in other forms of genetic modification, the altered gene is inherited by more than 95% of offspring, which means the trait increases over time – allowing it to spread through a whole population. This means we could change the mosquito at a scale never seen before. Gene drive offers the possibility of controlling malaria, but the decision to release gene drive mosquitoes into the wild hinges not only on the science but on social, political and environmental issues and the support of the public.
How expensive it is to be poor Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté inspires global action against malaria at TED2024
29894Realnews Magazine, 2024-05-07 16:49:13.
In a stirring address at TED2024, Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté, Head of Medical Entomology and Parasitology at the Research Institute in Health Sciences in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and Principal Investigator of Target Malaria Burkina Faso, shared his journey with malaria and his resolute commitment to eradicating it. Prof. Diabaté’s talk shed light on the devastating toll of malaria, particularly in Africa, and stressed the urgent need for transformative solutions. “Malaria is tightly linked to poverty and it is incredibly expensive to be poor,” Prof. Diabaté said as he reflected on his childhood battle with the disease. “Two hundred million cases worldwide end up sadly every year with approximately 600 000 deaths. While this is a statistic to many, to me there is a personal, tragic story. Most of these deaths happen in Africa where children and pregnant women pay the highest price.” Prof. Diabaté’s firsthand experience highlights the profound impact of malaria on individuals and families, motivating his tireless efforts to end malaria in his lifetime. Target Malaria is an international research consortium of scientists, stakeholder engagement teams, risk assessment specialists, and communication and regulatory experts from Africa, North America and Europe, dedicated to eradicating malaria.
How could genetic approaches be integrated in the malaria toolkit?
29889Damaris Matoke-Muhia, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024-05-07 16:29:20.
The Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research organized a symposium on the margins of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM Society)’s 8th Pan-African Malaria Conference held last week in Kigali, Rwanda. The event explored how novel genetic approaches could be integrated into the malaria toolkit and contribute to end malaria. I had the pleasure of participating in the Network’s symposium “Integrating genetic approaches in the malaria toolkit” as a panellist alongside Lucy Okell, Imperial College London and Isabelle Coche, Secretariat of the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research. The session was chaired by El Hadji Amadou Niang, Pan-African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA). Speakers discussed the potential of genetic approaches such as gene drive technologies to offer a sustainable, long term and cost-effective solution that could, in the context of integrated approaches to malaria control, contribute to the elimination of the disease. Presentations emphasized the need for collaboration, effective governance, multi-stakeholder engagement and strategic planning to support the effective integration of gene drive technologies into malaria control strategies.
To fend off aggressive female mosquitoes, L.A. is releasing thousands of sterile males
29882Evan Bush, NBC News, 2024-05-07 15:46:02.
In Los Angeles, those who wage war on mosquitoes are adding a weapon to their arsenal: more mosquitoes. The Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District on Thursday launched a pilot program to release tens of thousands of irradiated, lab-raised mosquitoes into the local environment. These mosquitoes are all male and have been sterilized by the radiation, so the hope is that they will find wild female mates and impregnate them with dead-end sperm, rendering the resulting eggs worthless. The target is a particular species, Aedes aegypti. The insects, which began to populate Los Angeles County in 2014, have evolved to hone in on one thing — you. “Thousands of years ago, a strain of Aedes aegypti moved in close to people and started to specialize to live near houses and bite people,” said Daniel Hahn, a professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Entomology and Nematology. “They’re characterized as aggressive nuisance biters because they’ll bite you all day long.” Aedes Aegypti thrive in backyards and make their homes in small containers like bottle caps and dog bowls. They can carry worrisome diseases like yellow fever, Chikungunya, Zika and dengue. “We know our residents are suffering,” said Susanne Kluh, the general manager of the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, which serves 6 million people and has more than 90 full-time staffers. The district on Thursday released about 20,000 sterile male mosquitoes, dyed to appear fluorescent under a black light, as part of its final pilot program test. Male Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes don’t bite, so experts say the program poses near-zero risk to humans.
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