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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Sequence of the supernumerary B chromosome of maize provides insight into its drive mechanism and evolution

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N. Blavet, H. Yang, H. Su, P. Solanský, R. N. Douglas, M. Karafiátová, L. Šimková, J. Zhang, Y. Liu, J. Hou, X. Shi, C. Chen, M. El-Walid, M. E. McCaw, P. S. Albert, Z. Gao, C. Zhao, G. Ben-Zvi, L. Glick, G. Kol, J. Shi, J. Vrána, H. Šimková, J. C. Lamb,,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  118:e2104254118. 2021.
B chromosomes are nonvital chromosomes found in thousands of plants and animals that persist through various drive mechanisms. The drive mechanism of the maize B chromosome consists of mitotic nondisjunction at the second pollen division to produce two unequal sperm and then the ...

Nondisjunction and unequal spindle organization accompany the drive of Aegilops speltoides B chromosomes

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D. Wu, A. Ruban, J. Fuchs, J. Macas, P. Novák, M. Vaio, Y. Zhou and A. Houben,  New Phytologist,  223:1340-1352. 2021.
B chromosomes (Bs) are supernumerary chromosomes, which are often preferentially inherited. When transmission rates of chromosomes are higher than 0.5, not obeying the Mendelian law of equal segregation, the resulting transmission advantage is collectively referred to as ...

What is wrong in extinguishing a species? Charting the Ethical Challenges of using Gene-Drive Technologies to eradicate A. gambiae vector populations

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M. Annoni and T. Pievani,  Biolaw Journal-Rivista Di Biodiritto,  2021.
This article analyses three ethical arguments against the use of gene-drive technologies to control for, and possibly extinguish, a particular species of vector mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) causing the malaria infection. We conclude that none of these arguments is truly ...

Analysis of off-target effects in CRISPR-based gene drives in the human malaria mosquito

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W. T. Garrood, N. Kranjc, K. Petri, D. Y. Kim, J. A. Guo, A. M. Hammond, I. Morianou, V. Pattanayak, J. K. Joung, A. Crisanti and A. Simoni,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  118:e2004838117. 2021.
CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease-based gene drives have been developed toward the aim of control of the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Gene drives are based on an active source of Cas9 nuclease in the germline that promotes super-Mendelian inheritance of the transgene by ...

Experimental demonstration of tethered gene drive systems for confined population modification or suppression

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M. Metzloff, E. Yang, S. Dhole, A. G. Clark, P. W. Messer and J. Champer,  bioRxiv,  2021.05.29.446308. 2021.
Tethered drive systems, in which a locally confined gene drive provides the CRISPR nuclease needed for a homing drive, could provide a solution to this problem, offering the power of a homing drive and confinement of the supporting drive. Here, we demonstrate the engineering of a ...

First evidence of deviation from Mendelian proportions in a conservation programme

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C. E. Grueber, K. A. Farquharson, B. R. Wright, G. P. Wallis, C. J. Hogg and K. Belov,  Molecular Ecology,  13. 2021.
Classic Mendelian inheritance is the bedrock of population genetics and underpins pedigree-based management of animal populations. However, assumptions of Mendelian inheritance might not be upheld in conservation breeding programmes if early viability selection occurs, even when ...

Improving mosquito control strategies with population genomics

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T. L. Schmidt, N. M. Endersby-Harshman and A. A. Hoffmann,  Trends in Parasitology,  37:907-921. 2021.
Mosquito control strategies increasingly apply knowledge from population genomics research. This review highlights recent applications to three research domains: mosquito invasions, insecticide resistance evolution, and rear and release programs. Current research trends follow ...

A Novel Genetic Sexing Strain of Anastrepha Ludens for Cost-Effective Sterile Insect Technique Applications: Improved Genetic Stability and Rearing Efficiency

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E. Ramírez-Santos, P. Rendon, G. Gouvi, A. Zacharopoulou, K. Bourtzis, C. Cáceres and K. Bloem,  Insects,  12. 2021.
Anastrepha ludens (Loew) is one of the most destructive insect pests damaging several fruits of economic importance. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is used under an area-wide integrated pest management approach, to suppress these pest populations. Mass rearing facilities were ...

Suppression of female fertility in Aedes aegypti with a CRISPR-targeted male-sterile mutation

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J. Chen, J. Luo, Y. Wang, A. S. Gurav, M. Li, O. S. Akbari and C. Montell,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  118:e2105075118. 2021.
We introduced and characterized the impact on female fertility of an Ae. aegypti mutation that disrupts a gene that is specifically expressed in testes. We used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate a null mutation in the Ae. aegypti β2-tubulin (B2t) gene, which eliminates male fertility. ...

The origin of island populations of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii

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M. Campos, M. Hanemaaijer, H. Gripkey, T. C. Collier, Y. S. Lee, A. J. Cornel, J. Pinto, D. Ayala, H. Rompao and G. C. Lanzaro,  Communications Biology,  4:9. 2021.
Anopheles coluzzii is a major malaria vector throughout its distribution in west-central Africa. Here we present a whole-genome study of 142 specimens from nine countries in continental Africa and three islands in the Gulf of Guinea. This sample set covers a large part of this ...

Malaria-Resistant Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae); The Principle is Proven, But Will the Effectors Be Effective?

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Z. N. Adelman and B. B. Kojin,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  58:1997-2005. 2021.
Over the last few decades, a substantial number of anti-malarial effector genes have been evaluated for their ability to block parasite infection in the mosquito vector. While many of these approaches have yielded significant effects on either parasite intensity or prevalence of ...

Optimized CRISPR tools and site-directed transgenesis towards gene drive development in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes

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X. Feng, V. López Del Amo, E. Mameli, M. Lee, A. L. Bishop, N. Perrimon and V. M. Gantz,  Nature Communications,  12:2960. 2021.
Culex mosquitoes are a global vector for multiple human and animal diseases, including West Nile virus, lymphatic filariasis, and avian malaria, posing a constant threat to public health, livestock, companion animals, and endangered birds. While rising insecticide resistance has ...

Targeting conserved sequences circumvents the evolution of resistance in a viral gene drive against human cytomegalovirus

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M. Walter, R. Perrone and E. Verdin,  Journal of virology,  2021.
Here, we analyze in cell culture experiments the evolution of resistance in a viral gene drive against human cytomegalovirus. We report that, after an initial invasion of the wildtype population, a drive-resistant population is positively selected over time and outcompetes gene ...

Guidance framework for testing of genetically modified mosquitoes, second edition

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WHO,  WHO-TDR,  2021.
For more than 2 decades, scientists have been working to harness the promise of molecular biology to develop genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) for use as public health tools to prevent the transmission of vector-borne diseases. Responding to a need for additional standards ...

Small-Cage Laboratory Trials of Genetically-Engineered Anopheline Mosquitoes

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R. Carballar-Lejarazú, T. B. Pham, V. Bottino-Rojas, A. Adolfi and A. A. James,  J Vis Exp,  2021.
Control of mosquito-borne pathogens using genetically-modified vectors has been proposed as a promising tool to complement conventional control strategies. CRISPR-based homing gene drive systems have made transgenic technologies more accessible within the scientific community. ...

Genetic Technologies for Sustainable Management of Insect Pests and Disease Vectors

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S. Grilli, R. Galizi and C. Taxiarchi,  Sustainability,  13. 2021.
Recent advancements in genetic and genome editing research, augmented by the discovery of new molecular tools such as CRISPR, have revolutionised the field of genetic engineering by enabling precise site-specific genome modifications with unprecedented ease. These technologies ...

Sterile Insect Technique: Successful Suppression of an Aedes aegypti Field Population in Cuba

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R. Gato, Z. Menendez, E. Prieto, R. Argiles, M. Rodriguez, W. Baldoquin, Y. Hernandez, D. Perez, J. Anaya, I. Fuentes, C. Lorenzo, K. Gonzalez, Y. Campo and J. Bouyer,  Insects,  12:13. 2021.
Here, we describe an open field trial to evaluate the effect of the release of irradiated male Ae. aegypti on a wild population. The pilot trial was carried out in a suburb of Havana and compared the mosquito population density before and after the intervention, in both untreated ...

Experiments confirm a dispersive phenotype associated with a natural gene drive system

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J.-N. Runge and A. K. Lindholm,  Royal Society Open Science,  8:202050. 2021.
Meiotic drivers are genetic entities that increase their own probability of being transmitted to offspring, usually to the detriment of the rest of the organism, thus ‘selfishly’ increasing their fitness. In many meiotic drive systems, driver-carrying males are less ...

CopyCatchers are versatile active genetic elements that detect and quantify inter-homolog somatic gene conversion

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Z. Li, N. Marcel, S. Devkota, A. Auradkar, S. M. Hedrick, V. M. Gantz and E. Bier,  Nature Communications,  12:2625. 2021.
CRISPR-based active genetic elements, or gene-drives, copied via homology-directed repair (HDR) in the germline, are transmitted to progeny at super-Mendelian frequencies. Active genetic elements also can generate widespread somatic mutations, but the genetic basis for such ...

A natural symbiotic bacterium drives mosquito refractoriness to Plasmodium infection via secretion of an antimalarial lipase

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H. Gao, L. Bai, Y. M. Jiang, W. Huang, L. L. Wang, S. G. Li, G. D. Zhu, D. Q. Wang, Z. H. Huang, X. S. Li, J. Cao, L. B. Jiang, M. Jacobs-Lorena, S. Zhan and S. B. Wang,  Nature Microbiology,  25. 2021.
The stalling global progress in the fight against malaria prompts the urgent need to develop new intervention strategies. Whilst engineered symbiotic bacteria have been shown to confer mosquito resistance to parasite infection, a major challenge for field implementation is to ...

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