Gene Drive in the News

A curated collection of articles from the popular press

Burkina Faso Stakeholders consultations on Gene Drive Technology for integrated vector management towards malaria elimination

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AUDA-NEPAD,  AUDA-NEPAD,  2020-12-08 15:09:47.
Under its flagship Integrated Vector Management (IVM) Programme, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in partnership with the National biosafety agency (ANB) of Burkina Faso organized an information sharing workshop on the applications of "Gene Drive" technology and facilitated discussions for the establishment of a consultative group on integrated vector management in Burkina Faso. The meeting was held from November 30th to December 1st, in Ouagadougou and brought together healthcare, environmental and biosafety regulators and other decision makers from different relevant institutions in the country.

A Gene Drive Could Wipe Out Mosquitoes. But What If We Want To Turn It Off?

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A. Winkler,  freethink,  2020-12-05 15:48:03.
Gene drives are powerful tools: they allow scientists to hack how animals pass down genes to their offspring. They could allow us to wipe out malaria-carrying mosquitoes, preserve endangered species, or fight off crop-eating pests. But once it's out in the wild, a gene drive can't be stopped from spreading — and that makes people nervous. If there are unintended consequences, we want to be able to pull the brakes. Now, UC San Diego researchers have developed a new genetic system that would let scientists halt or neutralize gene drives, even after they are released into the wild. The implications could be huge.

Mosquito population modification: the drive to malaria eradication

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A. A. James,  BugBitten BMC,  2020-11-27 14:37:56.
We have had considerable success in the past demonstrating that we can use modern molecular biological and insect transgenesis tools to make genes that prevent mosquitoes from passing on parasites (see 1 and 2). We have focused most recently on laboratory experiments to find ways to move these genes into wild mosquito populations.

FNIH Panel on Gene Drive Regulation Emphasizes Need for Local Community Engagement

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C. Rizk,  GenomeWeb,  2020-11-19 21:16:21.
Genetically modified organisms are another topic of deep debate, with some activists agitating for and getting governments to implement deep restrictions on modified crops. More recently, GMO crops have started to regain public favor, particularly in countries where boosting the levels of nutrients in staple crops could provide a benefit for children, or where certain genome modifications could increase crop yields. But reversing public biases and, more importantly, governmental regulations against GMOs won't be a simple matter, even if scientists can show a benefit to the modifications. So, when it comes to the development of the gene drive — another gene modification technology meant to promote the spread of certain genes in organisms such as mosquitoes in order to control or eradicate their populations in a controlled manner — many researchers are determined to foster debate that focuses on the science, includes local communities in the discussion, and leads to governance and regulations that will benefit both the environment and human health.

The bull Y chromosome has evolved to bully its way into gametes

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Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research,  Phys Org,  2020-11-18 16:54:40.
In a new study, published Nov. 18 in the journal Genome Research, scientists in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member David Page present the first ever full, high-resolution sequence of the Y chromosome of a Hereford bull. The research, more than a decade in the making, suggests that bulls' Y chromosomes have evolved dozens of copies of the same genes in a selfish attempt to make more males—a move that is countered in the female-determining X chromosome. This insight into the forces that govern sex chromosome behavior and evolution will help scientists in Page's lab study genetic differences between males and females and how they play out in health and disease across every part of the body, Page added.

‘A plague to be reckoned with’: UMN research creates a buzz with invasive fruit fly research

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B. Most,  The Minnesota Daily,  2020-11-18 13:26:31.
n early November, assistant professor Mike Smanski published an article about a new breakthrough in this research, demonstrating for the first time this kind of genetic engineering was possible in the common fruit fly. This shows that researchers could engineer this work into spotted wing drosophila in the future. The University’s Smanski Lab has also studied this technique in mosquitoes, zebra fish and carp, but never with this type of fruit fly, he said. “These are all a new class of genetic pesticide, basically, that allow you to engineer the pest organism itself and convert that pest organism into the pesticide,” Smanski said. Through this work the researchers can create a pest that is biologically the same, but when the females mate with these genetically modified males, they will not produce viable offspring, he said. This sterile insect technique can be helpful not only in reducing the population of insects, but in reducing the impacts of insecticides on surrounding species and nearby ecosystems, said Feltman, a second-year biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics graduate student.

Further guidance required for assessment of gene drive technology, says EFSA

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Euractiv,  The World News Monitor,  2020-11-16 16:25:26.
Existing guidelines are adequate for evaluating risks associated with gene-drive modified insects, but further guidance is needed for some areas, most notably for environmental risk assessments. The evaluation was requested to explore the issue ahead of the consideration of any possible applications of the technology and is also designed to support the EU in discussions on the biosafety of GMOs in international fora such as the United Nations. It found that while existing guidelines are sufficient for evaluating risks associated with technology, further guidance is needed for some areas, such as molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post-market environmental monitoring.

Mutagenic chain reaction cannot be sufficiently controlled

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Christoph Then,  Testbiotech,  2020-11-16 16:21:27.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published the results of its public consultation on the risks of so-called gene drive organisms. Testbiotech accuses the authority of disguising the real dimension of the risks. Gene drives are designed to spread artificial genetic constructs throughout populations of wild species much faster than would be expected naturally. Currently, gene drives are being developed with the aid of tools such as the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors. There are plans, e.g. to apply gene drives in insects (flies and mosquitoes) or rodents (rats or mice). The aim is to replace or eradicate natural populations. Once started the process cannot be controlled effectively or reliably. The damage to humans, the environment and nature could be severe.

EFSA advises on risk assessment of engineered gene drives

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EFSA,  European Food and Safety Authority,  2020-11-12 18:15:34.
EFSA’s existing guidelines for the risk assessment of genetically modified animals are adequate for evaluating risks associated with gene drive modified insects. However, further guidance is needed for some areas, such as molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post-market environmental monitoring, say EFSA’s experts on Genetically Modified Organisms.

Gene drive blocks malaria transmission in mosquitoes

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labonline,  labonline,  2020-11-09 15:46:59.
Employing a strategy known as ‘population modification’, which involves using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system to introduce genes preventing parasite transmission into mosquito chromosomes, University of California (UC) researchers have made a major advance in the use of genetic technologies to control the transmission of malaria parasites. Their work has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

The ethical way to alter organisms

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K. Esvelt,  Boston Globe,  2020-11-09 15:42:31.
As my colleagues and I first described in 2014, we can use CRISPR genome editing to duplicate the most powerful form of “gene drive,” a ubiquitous natural phenomenon that happens when a genetic change is inherited more frequently than usual. Encode the CRISPR machinery next to a useful edit we’ve made in the genome, and genome editing will reoccur in every generation, replacing the original with the edited version without limit. In principle, releasing such organisms would gradually alter entire wild populations and associated ecosystems.

Gene Drives: A Controversial Tool to Fight Malaria

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H. Albert,  LABIOTECH.eu,  2020-11-09 15:41:52.
The possibility of creating gene drives was introduced into the scientific community in 2003 by Austin Burt, a professor at Imperial College London. Burt was studying ‘selfish genes’ that can copy themselves into a specific target DNA sequence. He suggested that these genes, called homing endonucleases, could be used to make the majority of an organism’s offspring inherit a specific gene, instead of only half of it. This technology has a lot of potential. For example, it could be used to decimate populations of malaria-carrying mosquitoes by making the majority of their offspring male. However, there are concerns about the permanent nature of these genetic modifications and whether it could cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem it is used in.

Expert advises farmers to adopt gene drive-based pest control technology

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S. Thompson,  naija247news,  2020-11-09 15:36:25.
Dr Rose Gidado, County Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology(OFAB), has advised farmers to adopt the gene drive-based pest control technology. Gidado, also Deputy Director, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said the adoption would significantly help to restore Nigeria’s food crop industry. According to her, Nigerian agricultural system is dominated by the application of synthetic pesticides which have resulted in environmental pollution. Gidado said that it had contributed greatly to climate change, with lethal consequences like increased pest attack, decreased crop yield and extreme heat stress in plants. The scientist said the application of gene drive in Nigeria’s agricultural system, would help greatly in the control of deadly insect pests which cause damages to crops and reduction in food production.

Advances in genetic engineering test democracy’s capacity for good decision-making

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N. Kofler and R. Taitingfong,  Boston Globe,  2020-11-09 15:31:50.
New advances in genetic engineering and their application for environmental conservation and public health are further testing our democracy’s capacity for good decision-making. With minimal public input, the Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas. An application for the planting of GM American Chestnut trees, engineered to reproduce and spread in the wild, is currently under review by the US Department of Agriculture. And even more complex and powerful genetic technologies intended for environmental release are in the research pipeline.

Fighting Mosquito With GMO Mosquito: The Battle Brewing in the Florida Keys

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S. MacLaughlin,  NBC 6 South Florida,  2020-11-06 15:32:04.
Scientists are a few months into an experiment to stop the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito. Their weapon of choice? A genetically modified mosquito. But some environment advocates question the strategy. This year, the Florida Keys had an outbreak of Dengue fever, which was the first time that had happened in 10 years. It gives new urgency to the controversial effort to get rid of the Aedes aegypti, which has become harder to fight.

Florida will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes

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S. McGlaun,  Slash Gear,  2020-11-05 15:14:43.
Local officials in Florida have announced that they have approved 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released into the environment to reduce local populations of the bloodsucking creatures. The goal of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes is to help reduce the number of mosquitoes carrying diseases like dengue or the Zika virus. Approval to release the bugs came after environmental groups warned of unintended consequences.

UC researchers pioneer more effective method of blocking malaria transmission in mosquitoes

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UCI,  UCI News,  2020-11-03 14:11:01.
University of California, Irvine postdoctoral researcher Adriana Adolfi, in collaboration with colleagues at UCI, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, followed up on the group’s pioneering effort to develop CRISPR-based gene drive systems for making mosquito vectors resistant to transmitting malaria parasites by increasing gene drive effectiveness in female mosquito progeny.The second-generation gene drive system described in this paper can be applied to any of the several thousand genes that are essential for insects to survive or reproduce,” said UC San Diego Distinguished Professor Ethan Bier, a co-author of the study and science director at the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society. “While it was developed in fruit flies, this system is readily transportable to a broad selection of insect species that serve as vectors for devastating disorders such as Chagas disease, sleeping disease, leishmaniasis and arboviral diseases.”

Is Gene Editing the Answer to Eradicating Malaria in Africa?

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Staff,  ASH Clinical News,  2020-11-01 16:00:02.
Researchers are looking at a new technique to eradicate malaria: Engineering mosquitoes with a “gene drive” – a gene that when inserted into mosquitoes (or other organisms) will be passed on to nearly 100% of the offspring in the next generation, rather than just half the offspring – that rapidly spreads a mutation that removes the insects’ ability to spread the malaria-causing parasite.

Interview with Professor Austin Burt: Role of gene drive technology in the context of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy 2030

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S. Dunphy,  European Scientist,  2020-10-28 14:10:38.
In view of these conditions, leading scientists are calling on EU institutions to continue to back research into gene drive as a potential tool to protect public health and deliver on Europe’s biodiversity goals. Experts believe gene drive technologies could be a vital and effective solution in developing countries and islands, as well as across Europe.

Gene Drive: The What, How, Why, and Whether We Should

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N. Pazhayam,  The Pipettepen,  2020-10-26 19:12:07.
Under regular Mendelian inheritance, the probability of inheriting a particular allele from a heterozygous parent is 50% – this is because offspring can only inherit one or the other chromosome from each parent. However, gene drive is a technology that changes this probability and makes it much higher than 50%.

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