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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Hybrid mosquitoes? Evidence from rural Tanzania on how local communities conceptualize and respond to modified mosquitoes as a tool for malaria control

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M. F. Finda, F. O. Okumu, E. Minja, R. Njalambaha, W. Mponzi, B. B. Tarimo, P. Chaki, J. Lezaun, A. H. Kelly and N. Christofides,  Malaria Journal,  20:134. 2021.
Different forms of mosquito modifications are being considered as potential high-impact and low-cost tools for future malaria control in Africa. Although still under evaluation, the eventual success of these technologies will require high-level public acceptance. Understanding ...

A confinable home and rescue gene drive for population modification

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N. P. Kandul, J. Liu, J. B. Bennett, J. M. Marshall and O. S. Akbari,  eLife,  10:e65939. 2021.
Homing based gene drives, engineered using CRISPR/Cas9, have been proposed to spread desirable genes throughout populations. However, invasion of such drives can be hindered by the accumulation of resistant alleles. To limit this obstacle, we engineer a confinable population ...

Engineered expression of the invertebrate-specific scorpion toxin AaHIT reduces adult longevity and female fecundity in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella

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T. Harvey-Samuel, X. Xu, E. Lovett, T. Dafa'alla, A. Walker, V. C. Norman, R. Carter, J. Teal, L. Akilan, P. T. Leftwich, C. M. Reitmayer, H. A. Siddiqui and L. Alphey,  Pest Management Science,  2021.
To increase the flexibility of future genetic pest management systems in the diamondback moth, we aimed to assess the use of a non-cell-autonomous, invertebrate-specific, neurotoxic effector ? the scorpion toxin AaHIT. This AaHIT effector was designed to be secreted by ...

Quantifying the risk of vector-borne disease transmission attributable to genetically modified vectors

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G. R. Hosack, A. Ickowicz and K. R. Hayes,  Royal Society Open Science,  8:201525. 2021.
The relative risk of disease transmission caused by the potential release of transgenic vectors, such as through sterile insect technique or gene drive systems, is assessed with comparison with wild-type vectors. The probabilistic risk framework is demonstrated with an assessment ...

Developing GDi-CRISPR System for Multi-copy Integration in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Z.-X. Zhang, Y.-Z. Wang, Y.-S. Xu, X.-M. Sun and H. Huang,  Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology,  2021.
This study aims to develop a low-cost and easy-to-use multi-copy integration tool in S. cerevisiae. Firstly, twenty-one Cas proteins from different microorganisms were tested in S. cerevisiae to find the functional Cas proteins with optimal cleavage ability. Results showed that ...

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Survey in Greece before the Implementation of Sterile Insect Technique against Aedes albopictus

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A. Stefopoulou, S. L. LaDeau, N. Syrigou, G. Balatsos, V. Karras, I. Lytra, E. Boukouvala, D. P. Papachristos, P. G. Milonas, A. Kapranas, P. Vahamidis and A. Michaelakis,  Insects,  12. 2021.
A KAP tool was used to shed light on the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of local community members in order to better prepare and motivate participation in household mosquito control and to assess current understanding of SIT. Each household also received specific ...

Demographic and psychographic drivers of public acceptance of novel invasive pest control technologies

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F. Eppink, P. J. Walsh and E. MacDonald,  Ecology and Society,  26. 2021.
Invasive mammals are a primary threat to New Zealand's endemic species. In remote areas, aerial delivery of poison is the preferred method of pest management, although it faces some public backlash. Novel pest control technologies are currently being investigated as alternatives ...

Meiotic drive does not cause condition-dependent reduction of the sexual ornament in stalk-eyed flies

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S. R. Finnegan, M. Mondani, K. Fowler and A. Pomiankowski,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  11. 2021.
Meiotic drive systems are associated with low-frequency chromosomal inversions. These are expected to accumulate deleterious mutations due to reduced recombination and low effective population size. We test this prediction using the 'sex-ratio' (SR) meiotic drive system of the ...

Designing gene drives to limit spillover to non-target populations

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G. Greenbaum, M. W. Feldman, N. A. Rosenberg and J. Kim,  PLOS Genetics,  17:e1009278. 2021.
We develop mathematical models of gene-drive dynamics that incorporate migration between a target and non-target populations to investigate the possibility of effectively applying a gene drive in the target population while limiting its spillovers to the non-target population ...

Sterile Insect Technique: Lessons From the Past

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M. Q. Benedict,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  58:1974-1979. 2021.
When E.F. Knipling conceived of the release of sexually sterile insects to suppress wild populations, he laid down several fundamental qualities that characterized suitable target species—some of which mosquitoes generally violate—including high reproductive rates and large ...

Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) against Aedes Species Mosquitoes: A Roadmap and Good Practice Framework for Designing, Implementing and Evaluating Pilot Field Trials

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C. F. Oliva, M. Q. Benedict, C. M. Collins, T. Baldet, R. Bellini, H. Bossin, J. Bouyer, V. Corbel, L. Facchinelli, F. Fouque, M. Geier, A. Michaelakis, D. Roiz, F. Simard, C. Tur and L.-C. Gouagna,  Insects,  12. 2021.
We offer here a pragmatic and accessible ‘roadmap’ for the pre-pilot and pilot phases to guide any interested party. This will support stakeholders, non-specialist scientists, implementers, and decision-makers. Applying these concepts will ensure, given adequate resources, a ...

Population genomics of invasive rodents on islands: Genetic consequences of colonization and prospects for localized synthetic gene drive

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K. P. Oh, A. B. Shiels, L. Shiels, D. V. Blondel, K. J. Campbell, J. R. Saah, A. L. Lloyd, P. Q. Thomas, F. Gould, Z. Abdo, J. R. Godwin and A. J. Piaggio,  Evolutionary Applications,  2021.
Here we used pooled whole-genome sequencing of invasive mouse (Mus musculus) populations on four islands along with paired putative source populations to test genetic predictions of island colonization and characterize locally fixed Cas9 genomic targets. Patterns of variation ...

Modeling impact and cost-effectiveness of gene drives for malaria elimination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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N. Metchanun, C. Borgemeister, G. Amzati, J. von Braun, M. Nikolov, P. Selvaraj and J. Gerardin,  medRxiv,  2020.06.29.20142760. 2021.
Using a spatially explicit, agent-based model of malaria transmission in eight representative provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we predict the impact and cost-effectiveness of integrating driving-Y gene drive mosquitoes in malaria elimination strategies that ...

Holocentric Chromosomes Probably Do Not Prevent Centromere Drive in Cyperaceae

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M. Kratka, J. Smerda, K. Lojdova, P. Bures and F. Zedek,  Frontiers in Plant Science,  12:9. 2021.
In response to these selfish centromeres, the histone protein CenH3, which recruits kinetochore components, adaptively evolves to restore chromosomal parity and counter the detrimental effects of centromere drive. Holocentric chromosomes, whose kinetochores are assembled along ...

Split versions of Cleave and Rescue selfish genetic elements for measured self limiting gene drive

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G. Oberhofer, T. Ivy and B. A. Hay,  PLoS genetics,  17:e1009385. 2021.
Self-sustaining Cleave and Rescue (ClvR) elements include a DNA sequence-modifying enzyme such as Cas9/gRNAs that disrupts endogenous versions of an essential gene, a tightly linked recoded version of the essential gene resistant to cleavage (the Rescue), and a Cargo. ClvR ...

Emergent challenges for CRISPR: biosafety, biosecurity, patenting, and regulatory issues

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Braddick, D. , and Ramarohetra, R. F.,  Genome Engineering Via Crispr-Cas9 System,  2021.
The recent advancements of CRISPR-Cas technologies have transformed this simple and efficient gene editing technique into an extraordinarily powerful tool. The most anticipated applications could create novel therapeutics against mankind's most serious afflictions and help ...

Scientifically framed gene drive communication perceived as credible but riskier

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E. A. MacDonald, E. D. Edwards, J. Balanovic and F. Medvecky,  People and Nature,  2021.
Framing is a communication technique in which certain beliefs or values are emphasized that resonate with the target audience. Framing may increase how much people objectively think about new information and update their opinions; framing may mitigate emo

ReMOT Control Delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein Complex to Induce Germline Mutagenesis in the Disease Vector Mosquitoes Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae)

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X. X. Li, Y. Xu, H. B. Zhang, H. T. Yin, D. Zhou, Y. Sun, L. Ma, B. Shen and C. L. Zhu,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  58. 2021.
The wide distribution of Culex (Cx.) pipiens complex mosquitoes makes it difficult to prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases in humans. Gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 is an effective technique with the potential to solve the growing problem of mosquito-borne ...

Operational Parameters for the Aerial Release of Sterile Codling Moths Using an Uncrewed Aircraft System

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E. D. Esch, R. M. Horner, D. C. Krompetz, N. Moses-Gonzales, M. R. Tesche and D. M. Suckling,  Insects,  12:2/13/2021. 2021.
The codling moth is a serious pest of apples in most regions of the world where this fruit is produced. The sterile insect technique is one strategy used to control this pest and is employed as part of an area-wide integrated pest management program for the codling moth in ...

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

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X. Feng, V. Lopez Del Amo, E. Mameli, M. Lee, A. L. Bishop, N. Perrimon and V. M. Gantz,  bioRxiv,  2021.02.10.430702. 2021.
Here, we developed a Culex-specific Cas9/gRNA expression toolkit and used site-directed homology-based transgenesis to generate and validate a Culex quinquefasciatus Cas9-expressing line. We showed that gRNA scaffold variants improve transgenesis efficiency in both Culex and ...

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