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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Atypical meiosis can be adaptive in outcrossed Schizosaccharomyces pombe due to wtf meiotic drivers

13899
M. A. Bravo Núñez, I. M. Sabbarini, L. E. Eide, R. L. Unckless and S. E. Zanders,  eLife,  9:e57936. 2020-08-13 13:30:44.
Here, we demonstrate that in scenarios analogous to outcrossing, wtf drivers generate a fitness landscape in which atypical spores, such as aneuploids and diploids, are advantageous. In this context, wtf drivers can decrease the fitness costs of mutations that disrupt meiotic fidelity and, in some circumstances, can even make such mutations beneficial. This work empirically demonstrates the potential for meiotic drivers to shape the evolution of gametogenesis.

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

13724
A. R. North, A. Burt and H. C. J. Godfray,  BMC Biology,  18:98. 2020-08-11 12:23:41.
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, we use simulation modelling to understand the factors affecting the spread of this type of gene drive over a one million-square kilometre area of West Africa containing substantial environmental and social heterogeneity.

Incorporating Characteristics of Gene Drive Engineered Ae. aegypti as Methods to Reduce Dengue and Zika Virus into the Bayesian Network – Relative Risk Model, Using Ponce, Puerto Rico as a Case Study

16097
S. R. Eikenbary,  WWU Graduate School Collection,  2020-08-10 19:24:02.
The Bayesian network relative risk model can perform the risk assessment of gene drive engineered Ae. aegypti for vector control and as part of an adaptive management strategy to reduce dengue and Zika transmission. This study illustrates how the BN-RRM can integrate gene drive related information within a risk assessment framework suitable for adaptive management of these novel stressors.

Engineered Reproductively Isolated Species Drive Reversible Population Replacement

13837
A. Buchman, I. Shriner, T. Yang, J. Liu, I. Antoshechkin, J. M. Marshall, M. W. Perry and O. S. Akbari,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.09.242982. 2020-08-10 15:42:26.
Engineered reproductive species barriers are useful for impeding gene flow and driving desirable genes into wild populations in a reversible threshold-dependent manner. We engineer multiple reproductively isolated SPECIES and demonstrate their threshold-dependent gene drive capabilities in D. melanogaster.

Ubiquitous selfish toxin-antidote elements in Caenorhabditis species

13751
E. Ben-David, P. Pliota, S. A. Widen, A. Koreshova, T. Lemus-Vergara, P. Verpukhovskiy, S. Mandali, C. Braendle, A. Burga and L. Kruglyak,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.06.240564. 2020-08-07 17:38:23.
We discovered five maternal-effect Toxin/Antidotes (TAs) in the nematode Caenorhabditis tropicalis and one in C. briggsae. Unlike previously reported TAs, five of these novel toxins do not kill embryos but instead cause larval arrest or developmental delay. Our results show that TAs are common in Caenorhabditis species, target a wide range of developmental processes, and may act as barriers preventing gene flow.

Selfing is the safest sex for Caenorhabditis tropicalis

13747
L. M. Noble, J. Yuen, L. Stevens, N. Moya, R. Persaud, M. Moscatelli, J. Jackson, C. Braendle, E. C. Andersen, H. S. Seidel and M. V. Rockman,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.07.242032. 2020-08-07 13:24:52.
Frequent selfing in Caenorhabditis. tropicalis may be a strategy to avoid gene drive-mediated outbreeding depression. Mating systems have profound effects on genetic diversity and compatibility. Caenorhabditis tropicalis is the least genetically diverse among 3 species of Caenorhabditis that have evolved a mating system dependent on self-fertilization and is the most afflicted by outbreeding depression.

Maintenance management and eradication of established aquatic invaders

13936
D. Simberloff,  Hydrobiologia,  22. 2020-08-06 13:34:15.
The rapid development of technologies based on genetics has engendered excitement about possibly eradicating or controlling terrestrial invaders, and such technologies may also prove useful for certain aquatic invaders. Methods of particular interest, alone or in various combinations, are gene-silencing, RNA-guided gene drives, and the use of transgenes.

Global Governing Bodies: A Pathway for Gene Drive Governance for Vector Mosquito Control

13605
A. Kelsey, D. Stillinger, T. B. Pham, J. Murphy, S. Firth and R. Carballar-Lejarazú,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  2020-08-05 12:34:11.
We examined the current institutions and governing bodies among various continents that could have an impact on gene drive governance or the potential to adapt to its future use. Possible governance strategies also are proposed that seek to bridge gaps and promote an ethically sound policy framework. Ideally, governance strategies should be developed before or at the same pace as gene drive research to anticipate field releases and maximize their impact as a public health tool.

Modeling the suppression dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes with mating inhomogeneity

13847
M. Huang and L. Hu,  Journal of Biological Dynamics,  14:656-678. 2020-08-04 13:51:41.
In this work, we introduce a delay differential equation model with mating inhomogeneity to discuss mosquito population suppression based on Wolbachia. Our analyses show that the wild mosquitoes could be eliminated if either the adult mortality rate exceeds the threshold δ∗A or the release amount exceeds the threshold r∗ uniformly. Our simulations suggest that the releasing should be started at least 5 weeks before the peak dengue season, taking into account both the release amount and the suppression speed.

Genomic analyses of a livestock pest, the New World screwworm, find potential targets for genetic control programs

13618
M. J. Scott, J. B. Benoit, R. J. Davis, S. T. Bailey, V. Varga, E. O. Martinson, P. V. Hickner, Z. Syed, G. A. Cardoso, T. T. Torres, M. T. Weirauch, E. H. Scholl, A. M. Phillippy, A. Sagel, M. Vasquez, G. Quintero and S. R. Skoda,  Nature Communications,  3:424. 2020-08-04 12:56:38.
We identify and analyze the expression of genes that are likely important for host-seeking behavior (chemosensory), development of larvae in open wounds in warm-blooded animals (heat shock protein, immune response) and for building transgenic strains for genetic control programs including gene drive (sex determination, germline). This study will underpin future experiments aimed at understanding the parasitic lifestyle of the screwworm fly and greatly facilitate future development of strains for efficient systems for genetic control of screwworm.

Fighting malaria with genetically modified mosquitoes

13609
E. Nakkazi,  BMJ,  370:m2172. 2020-08-04 12:53:14.
Could a bold project to genetically engineer mosquitoes curb the scourge of malaria in Africa? Finding out will require careful science—and public acceptance, writes Esther Nakkazi

Efficient population modification gene-drive rescue system in the malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi

13593
A. Adolfi, V. M. Gantz, N. Jasinskiene, H.-F. Lee, K. Hwang, E. A. Bulger, A. Ramaiah, J. B. Bennett, G. Terradas, J. J. Emerson, J. M. Marshall, E. Bier and A. A. James,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.02.233056. 2020-08-02 12:59:26.
We developed the first recoded gene-drive rescue system for population modification in the malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi, that relieves the load in females caused by integration of the drive into the kynurenine hydroxylase gene by rescuing its function. Non-functional resistant alleles are eliminated via a dominantly-acting maternal effect combined with slower-acting standard negative selection, and a functional resistant allele does not prevent drive invasion.

Extensive Recombination Suppression and Epistatic Selection Causes Chromosome-Wide Differentiation of a Selfish Sex Chromosome in Drosophila pseudoobscura

14296
Z. L. Fuller, S. A. Koury, C. J. Leonard, R. E. Young, K. Ikegami, J. Westlake, S. Richards, S. W. Schaeffer and N. Phadnis,  Genetics,  216:205. 2020-07-30 14:22:50.
Here, we conduct a multifaceted study of the multiply inverted Drosophila pseudoobscura SR chromosome to understand the evolutionary history, genetic architecture, and present-day dynamics that shape this enigmatic selfish chromosome.

A One-Sided Competition Mathematical Model for the Sterile Insect Technique

14287
A. Ben Dhahbi, Y. Chargui, S. M. Boulaaras and S. Ben Khalifa,  Complexity,  2020:12. 2020-07-30 13:59:01.
We study a simple mathematical model describing the dynamics of a wild-type pest insects population experiencing competition from sterile insects (one-sided competition).

Chemical controllable gene drive in Drosophila

13773
D. Chae, J. Lee, N. Lee, K. Park, S. J. Moon and H. H. Kim,  ACS Synthetic Biology,  in press. 2020-07-30 12:48:10.
Here, we report a chemical-induced control of gene drive. We prepared a CRISPR-based gene drive system that can be removed by a site-specific recombinase, Rippase, the expression of which is induced by the chemical RU486 in fruit flies. Exposure of fruit flies to RU486 resulted in 7-12% removal of gene drive elements at each generation, leading to a significant reduction in gene drive-fly propagation.

Nix alone is sufficient to convert female Aedes aegypti into fertile males and myo-sex is needed for male flight

13780
A. Aryan, M. A. E. Anderson, J. K. Biedler, Y. M. Qi, J. M. Overcash, A. N. Naumenko, M. V. Sharakhova, C. H. Mao, Z. N. Adelman and Z. J. Tu,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  117:17702-17709. 2020-07-28 13:17:04.
Here, we report the generation of multiple transgenic lines that express Nix under the control of its own promoter. Genetic and molecular analyses of these lines provided insights unattainable from previous transient experiments. We show that the Nix transgene alone, in the absence of the M-locus, was sufficient to convert females into males with all male-specific sexually dimorphic features and male-like gene expression.

The Biochemistry of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility Caused by Endosymbiotic Bacteria

18757
H. Chen, M. Zhang and M. Hochstrasser,  Genes,  11. 2020-07-25 14:17:05.
Many species of arthropods carry maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts that can influence host sexual reproduction to benefit the bacterium. The most well-known of such reproductive parasites is Wolbachia pipientis. Wolbachia are obligate intracellular α-proteobacteria found in nearly half of all arthropod species. This success has been attributed in part to their ability to manipulate host reproduction to favor infected females. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a phenomenon wherein Wolbachia infection renders males sterile when they mate with uninfected females, but not infected females (the rescue mating), appears to be the most common. CI provides a reproductive advantage to infected females in the presence of a threshold level of infected males. The molecular mechanisms of CI and other reproductive manipulations, such as male killing, parthenogenesis, and feminization, have remained mysterious for many decades. It had been proposed by Werren more than two decades ago that CI is caused by a Wolbachia-mediated sperm modification and that rescue is achieved by a Wolbachia-encoded rescue factor in the infected egg. In the past few years, new research has highlighted a set of syntenic Wolbachia gene pairs encoding CI-inducing factors (Cifs) as the key players for the induction of CI and its rescue. Within each Cif pair, the protein encoded by the upstream gene is denoted A and the downstream gene B. To date, two types of Cifs have been characterized based on the enzymatic activity identified in the B protein of each protein pair; one type encodes a deubiquitylase (thus named CI-inducing deubiquitylase or cid), and a second type encodes a nuclease (named CI-inducing nuclease or cin). The CidA and CinA proteins bind tightly and specifically to their respective CidB and CinB partners. In transgenic Drosophila melanogaster, the expression of either the Cid or Cin protein pair in the male germline induces CI and the expression of the cognate A protein in females is sufficient for rescue. With the identity of the Wolbachia CI induction and rescue factors now known, research in the field has turned to directed studies on the molecular mechanisms of CI, which we review here.

The potential for a CRISPR gene drive to eradicate or suppress globally invasive social wasps

13486
P. J. Lester, M. Bulgarella, J. W. Baty, P. K. Dearden, J. Guhlin and J. M. Kean,  Scientific Reports,  10:12398. 2020-07-24 17:41:41.
P. J. Lester, M. Bulgarella, J. W. Baty, P. K. Dearden, J. Guhlin and J. M. Kean (2020). Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69259-6 Gene drives have potential for widespread and cost-efficient pest control, but are highly controversial. We examined a potential gene drive targeting spermatogenesis to control the invasive common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) in New Zealand.

Providing a policy framework for responsible gene drive research: an analysis of the existing governance landscape and priority areas for further research

13231
D. Thizy, I. Coche and J. de Vries,  Wellcome Open Research,  2020-07-20 12:19:36.
D. Thizy, I. Coche and J. de Vries (2020). Wellcome Open Research. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16023.1 In this manuscript, we review the existing regulatory landscape around gene drive research and map areas of convergence and divergence, as well as gaps in relation to guidelines for community engagement in gene drive research.

Socrates Untenured: Ethics, Experts, and the Public in the Synthetic Age

13182
C. Preston,  ISSUES in Science and Technology,  2020-07-14 17:44:20.
C. Preston (2020). Three tools have transformed biotechnology over the past decade and a half. Gene reading has made it possible to quickly sequence the genome of any living creature. Gene synthesis has made it possible to construct DNA sequences in the lab from constituent chemicals. Gene editing has made it possible to place those sections into an existing DNA sequence at any point a technician chooses.

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