Scholarly Literature
This is a database of scholarly literature that concentrates currently on natural and engineered selfish genetic elements (gene drives). The latest are shown here.
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Gene drive strategies of pest control in agricultural systems: challenges and opportunitiesM. Legros, J. M. Marshall, S. Macfadyen, K. R. Hayes, A. Sheppard and L. G. Barrett, Evolutionary Applications, 2021.
Abstract Recent advances in gene editing technologies have opened new avenues for genetic pest control strategies, in particular around the use of gene drives to suppress or modify pest populations. Significant uncertainty, however, surrounds the applicability of these strategies ... |
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Resistance to a CRISPR-based gene drive at an evolutionarily conserved site is revealed by mimicking genotype fixationS. Fuchs, W. Garrood, A. Beber, A. Hammond, R. Galizi, M. Gribble, G. Morselli, T.-Y. Hui, K. Willis, N. Kranjc, A. Burt, T. Nolan and A. Crisanti, bioRxiv, 2021.
CRISPR-based homing gene drives can be designed to disrupt essential genes whilst biasing their own inheritance, leading to suppression of mosquito populations in the laboratory. This class of gene drives relies on CRISPR-Cas9 cleavage of a target sequence and copying ... |
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Risk management recommendations for environmental releases of gene drive modified insectsY. Devos, J. D. Mumford, M. B. Bonsall, D. C. M. Glandorf and H. D. Quemada, Biotechnology Advances, 2021.
The ability to engineer gene drives (genetic elements that bias their own inheritance) has sparked enthusiasm and concerns. Engineered gene drives could potentially be used to address long-standing challenges in the control of insect disease vectors, agricultural pests and ... |
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The Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) hsp83 Gene Promoter Drives Strong Ubiquitous DsRed and ZsGreen Marker Expression in Transgenic MosquitoesS. H. Webster and M. J. Scott, Journal of Medical Entomology, 2021.
Transgenic strains of the mosquito disease vector Aedes aegypti (L.) are being developed for population suppression or modification. Transgenic mosquitoes are identified using fluorescent protein genes. Here we describe DsRed and ZsGreen marker genes driven by the constitutive ... |
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Sex separation of Aedes spp. mosquitoes for sterile insect technique application: a reviewB. M. Moran-Aceves, C. F. Marina, A. Dor, P. Liedo and J. Toledo, Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata, 10. 2021.
Separation of the sexes is necessary for the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) in mosquitoes due to the hematophagous habits and disease vector activity of the females. In this review we analyze the history, current status, and future perspectives for the ... |
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Wolbachia as translational science: controlling mosquito-borne pathogensE. P. Caragata, H. L. C. Dutra, P. H. F. Sucupira, A. G. A. Ferreira and L. A. Moreira, Trends in Parasitology, 2021.
In this review we examine how exploiting the Wolbachia?mosquito relationship has become an increasingly popular strategy for controlling arbovirus transmission. Field deployments of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes have led to significant decreases in dengue virus incidence via high ... |
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CRISPR/Cas-9 mediated knock-in by homology dependent repair in the West Nile Virus vector Culex quinquefasciatus SayD.-K. Purusothaman, L. Shackleford, M. A. E. Anderson, T. Harvey-Samuel and L. Alphey, Scientific Reports, 11:14964. 2021.
Culex quinquefasciatus Say is a mosquito distributed in both tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is a night-active, opportunistic blood-feeder and vectors many animal and human diseases, including West Nile Virus and avian malaria. Current vector control methods ... |
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Using Moderate Transgene Expression to Improve the Genetic Sexing System of the Australian Sheep Blow Fly Lucilia cuprinaY. Yan, M. E. Williamson and M. J. Scott, Insects, 11. 2021.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a promising strategy to control the Australian sheep blow fly Lucilia cuprina, a major pest of sheep. We have previously developed a transgenic embryonic sexing system (TESS) for this pest to facilitate the potential SIT application. TESS ... |
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Combating mosquito-borne diseases using genetic control technologiesG.-H. Wang, S. Gamez, R. R. Raban, J. M. Marshall, L. Alphey, M. Li, J. L. Rasgon and O. S. Akbari, Nature Communications, 12:4388. 2021.
Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, pose significant global health burdens. Unfortunately, current control methods based on insecticides and environmental maintenance have fallen short of eliminating the disease burden. Scalable, deployable, genetic-based ... |
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The Possible Role of Microorganisms in Mosquito Mass RearingL. Chersoni, A. Checcucci, M. Malfacini, A. Puggioli, F. Balestrino, M. Carrieri, I. Piunti, M. L. Dindo, P. Mattarelli and R. Bellini, Insects, 12. 2021.
In Europe, one of the most significant mosquitoes of public health importance is Aedes albopictus (Skuse), an allochthonous species of Asian origin. One of the most promising control methods against Aedes albopictus is the sterile insect technique (SIT), which consists of mass ... |
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Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and Its ApplicationsK. Bourtzis and M. J. B. Vreysen, Insects, 12. 2021.
Although most insect species have a beneficial role in the ecosystems, some of them represent major plant pests and disease vectors for livestock and humans. During the last six–seven decades, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used as part of area-wide integrated pest ... |
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Targeting Conserved Sequences Circumvents the Evolution of Resistance in a Viral Gene Drive against Human CytomegalovirusM. Walter, R. Perrone, E. Verdin and F. Goodrum, Journal of Virology, 95:e00802-21. 2021.
Gene drives are genetic systems designed to efficiently spread a modification through a population. They have been designed almost exclusively in eukaryotic species, especially in insects. We recently developed a CRISPR-based gene drive system in herpesviruses that relies on ... |
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Autocatalytic-protection for an unknown locus CRISPR-Cas countermeasure for undesired mutagenic chain reactionsE. Schonfeld, E. Schonfeld and D. Schonfeld, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 528:110831. 2021.
The mutagenic chain reaction (MCR) is a genetic tool to use a CRISPR–Cas construct to introduce a homing endonuclease, allowing gene drive to influence whole populations in a minimal number of generations (Esvelt et al., 2014, Gantz and Bier, 2015, Gantz and Bier, 2016). The ... |
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Earth system interventions as technologies of the AnthropoceneJ. L. Reynolds, Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 40:132-146. 2021.
Earth system interventions (ESIs)—intentional large-scale interventions in Earth systems—are not entirely new. However, in response to threats to sustainability, particularly from climate change and biodiversity loss, some scientists and others are researching, developing, ... |
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Improvement of the Mass-Rearing Protocols for the South American Fruit Fly for Application of the Sterile Insect TechniqueT. Mastrangelo, A. Kovaleski, B. Maset, M. D. Costa, C. Barros, L. A. Lopes and C. Caceres, Insects, 12. 2021.
The existing rearing protocols for Anastrepha fraterculus must be reviewed to make economically viable the production of sterile flies for their area-wide application. Additionally, evidence of sexual incompatibility between a long-term mass-reared Brazilian strain and wild ... |
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Comparative response to post-production process of two Anastrepha ludens strains: Application in the sterile insect techniqueJ. Arredondo, J. F. Aguirre-Medina, J. S. Meza, J. Cancino and F. Diaz-Fleischer, Journal of Applied Entomology, 11. 2021.
The new desiccation-resistant (DR) strain of Anastrepha ludens Loew differs in its life-history traits from the non-selected strain (NS). Given the innate resistance of DR flies to stressors, it is necessary to determine the packing and shipment conditions for their use in the ... |
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Distinct spermiogenic phenotypes underlie sperm elimination in the Segregation Distorter meiotic drive systemM. Herbette, X. L. Wei, C. H. Chang, A. M. Larracuente, B. Loppin and R. Dubruille, PLOS Genetics, 17:26. 2021.
Here we show that SD/SD+ males of different genotypes but with similarly strong degrees of distortion have distinct spermiogenic phenotypes. In some genotypes, SD+ spermatids fail to fully incorporate protamines after the removal of histones, and degenerate during the ... |
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Effect of the timing of pupal irradiation on the quality and sterility of oriental fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) for use in Sterile Insect TechniqueT. J. Fezza, P. A. Follett and T. E. Shelly, Applied Entomology and Zoology, 8. 2021.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a target-specific, biologically based method used to control pestiferous tephritids entailing the release of mass-reared, sterilized males of the target species to achieve sterile male x wild female matings. As documented for several ... |
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Effect of the timing of pupal irradiation on the quality and sterility of oriental fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) for use in Sterile Insect TechniqueT. J. Fezza, P. A. Follett and T. E. Shelly, Applied Entomology and Zoology, 8. 2021.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a target-specific, biologically based method used to control pestiferous tephritids entailing the release of mass-reared, sterilized males of the target species to achieve sterile male x wild female matings. As documented for several ... |
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Gene drive that results in addiction to a temperature sensitive version of an essential gene triggers population collapse in DrosophilaG. Oberhofer, B. Hay and T. Ivy, bioRxiv, 2021.07.03.451005. 2021.
One strategy for population suppression seeks to use gene drive to spread genes that confer conditional lethality or sterility, providing a way of combining population modification with suppression. Stimuli of potential interest could be introduced by humans, such as an otherwise ... |
