Modeling Synthetic Drive Systems

Pulled, pushed or failed: the demographic impact of a gene drive can change the nature of its spatial spread

L. Kläy, L. Girardin, V. Calvez and F. Débarre,  Journal of Mathematical Biology,  87:30. 2023.
Understanding the temporal spread of gene drive alleles-alleles that bias their own transmission-through modeling is essential before any field experiments. In this paper, we present a deterministic reaction-diffusion model describing the interplay between demographic and allelic ...

Environmentally appropriate vector control is facilitated by standard metrics for simulation-based evaluation

V. N. Vásquez, M. R. Reddy and J. M. Marshall,  Frontiers in Tropical Diseases,  3. 2022.
As anthropogenic factors contribute to the introduction and expansion of new and established vector species, the geographic incidence of mosquito-borne disease is shifting. Computer simulations, informed by field data where possible, facilitate the cost-effective evaluation of ...

Harnessing Wolbachia cytoplasmic incompatibility alleles for confined gene drive: a modeling study

J. Li and J. Champer,  bioRxiv,  2022.08.09.503337. 2022.
By using both mathematical and simulation models, we found that a drive containing CifA and CifB together create a confined drive with a moderate to high introduction threshold. When introduced separately, they act as a self-limiting drive. We observed that the performance of ...

A theory of resistance to multiplexed gene drive demonstrates the significant role of weakly deleterious natural genetic variation

B. S. Khatri and A. Burt,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  119:e2200567119. 2022.
CRISPR-based gene drives have the potential for controlling natural populations of disease vectors, such as malaria-carrying mosquitoes in sub-Saharan Africa. If successful, they hold promise of significantly reducing the burden of disease and death from malaria and many other ...

Slow and steady wins the race: spatial and stochastic processes and the failure of suppression gene drives

J. F. Paril and B. L. Phillips,  Molecular Ecology,  2022.
Gene drives that skew sex ratios offer a new management tool to suppress or eradicate pest populations. Early models and empirical work suggest that these suppression drives can completely eradicate well-mixed populations, but models that incorporate stochasticity and space ...

Gene drive designs for efficient and localisable population suppression using Y-linked editors

R. Geci, K. Willis and A. Burt,  bioRxiv,  2022.06.29.498122. 2022.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been successful in controlling some pest species but is not practicable for many others due to the large numbers of individuals that need to be reared and released. Previous computer modelling has demonstrated that the release of males ...

Strategies to Mitigate Establishment under the Wolbachia Incompatible Insect Technique

S. Soh, S. H. Ho, J. Ong, A. Seah, B. S. Dickens, K. W. Tan, J. R. Koo, A. R. Cook, S. Sim, C. H. Tan, L. C. Ng and J. T. Lim,  Viruses,  14. 2022.
The Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) strategy involves the release of male mosquitoes infected with the bacterium Wolbachia. Regular releases of male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes can lead to the suppression of mosquito populations, thereby reducing the risk of transmission of ...

Modelling the Wolbachia incompatible insect technique: strategies for effective mosquito population elimination

D. E. Pagendam, B. J. Trewin, N. Snoad, S. A. Ritchie, A. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Staunton, C. Paton and N. Beebe,  BMC Biology,  18:13. 2020.
We introduce a simple Markov population process model for studying mosquito populations subjected to a Wolbachia-IIT programme which exhibit an unstable equilibrium threshold. The model is used to study, in silico, scenarios that are likely to yield a successful elimination ...

Modelling the suppression of a malaria vector using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive to reduce female fertility

A. R. North, A. Burt and H. C. J. Godfray,  BMC Biology,  18:98. 2020.
Gene drives based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology are increasingly being considered as tools for reducing the capacity of mosquito populations to transmit malaria, and one of the most promising options is driving endonuclease genes that reduce the fertility of female mosquitoes. Here, ...

Can a population targeted by a CRISPR-based homing gene drive be rescued?

N. O. Rode, V. Courtier-Orgogozo and F. Débarre,  G3-Genes Genomes Genetics,  2020.
N. O. Rode, V. Courtier-Orgogozo and F. Débarre (2020). G3 doi: 10.1534/g3.120.401484 Developing countermeasures is important to control the spread of gene drives, should they result in unanticipated damages. One proposed countermeasure is the introduction of individuals ...

Population-level multiplexing: A promising strategy to manage the evolution of resistance against gene drives targeting a neutral locus

M. P. Edgington, T. Harvey-Samuel and L. Alphey,  Evolutionary Applications,  10. 2020.
CRISPR-based gene drives bias inheritance in their favour by inducing double-stranded breaks (DSBs) at wild-type homologous loci and using the drive transgene as a repair template-converting drive heterozygotes into homozygotes. Recent studies have shown that alternate ...