Gene Drive Technology in the News
Burkina Faso Stakeholders consultations on Gene Drive Technology for integrated vector management towards malaria elimination
15384AUDA-NEPAD, AUDA-NEPAD, 2020-12-08 15:09:47.
Under its flagship Integrated Vector Management (IVM) Programme, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in partnership with the National biosafety agency (ANB) of Burkina Faso organized an information sharing workshop on the applications of "Gene Drive" technology and facilitated discussions for the establishment of a consultative group on integrated vector management in Burkina Faso. The meeting was held from November 30th to December 1st, in Ouagadougou and brought together healthcare, environmental and biosafety regulators and other decision makers from different relevant institutions in the country.
A Gene Drive Could Wipe Out Mosquitoes. But What If We Want To Turn It Off?
15424A. Winkler, freethink, 2020-12-05 15:48:03.
Gene drives are powerful tools: they allow scientists to hack how animals pass down genes to their offspring. They could allow us to wipe out malaria-carrying mosquitoes, preserve endangered species, or fight off crop-eating pests. But once it's out in the wild, a gene drive can't be stopped from spreading — and that makes people nervous. If there are unintended consequences, we want to be able to pull the brakes. Now, UC San Diego researchers have developed a new genetic system that would let scientists halt or neutralize gene drives, even after they are released into the wild. The implications could be huge.
Mosquito population modification: the drive to malaria eradication
15272A. A. James, BugBitten BMC, 2020-11-27 14:37:56.
We have had considerable success in the past demonstrating that we can use modern molecular biological and insect transgenesis tools to make genes that prevent mosquitoes from passing on parasites (see 1 and 2). We have focused most recently on laboratory experiments to find ways to move these genes into wild mosquito populations.
FNIH Panel on Gene Drive Regulation Emphasizes Need for Local Community Engagement
15222C. Rizk, GenomeWeb, 2020-11-19 21:16:21.
Genetically modified organisms are another topic of deep debate, with some activists agitating for and getting governments to implement deep restrictions on modified crops. More recently, GMO crops have started to regain public favor, particularly in countries where boosting the levels of nutrients in staple crops could provide a benefit for children, or where certain genome modifications could increase crop yields. But reversing public biases and, more importantly, governmental regulations against GMOs won't be a simple matter, even if scientists can show a benefit to the modifications. So, when it comes to the development of the gene drive — another gene modification technology meant to promote the spread of certain genes in organisms such as mosquitoes in order to control or eradicate their populations in a controlled manner — many researchers are determined to foster debate that focuses on the science, includes local communities in the discussion, and leads to governance and regulations that will benefit both the environment and human health.
The bull Y chromosome has evolved to bully its way into gametes
15217Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Phys Org, 2020-11-18 16:54:40.
In a new study, published Nov. 18 in the journal Genome Research, scientists in the lab of Whitehead Institute Member David Page present the first ever full, high-resolution sequence of the Y chromosome of a Hereford bull. The research, more than a decade in the making, suggests that bulls' Y chromosomes have evolved dozens of copies of the same genes in a selfish attempt to make more males—a move that is countered in the female-determining X chromosome. This insight into the forces that govern sex chromosome behavior and evolution will help scientists in Page's lab study genetic differences between males and females and how they play out in health and disease across every part of the body, Page added.
‘A plague to be reckoned with’: UMN research creates a buzz with invasive fruit fly research
15238B. Most, The Minnesota Daily, 2020-11-18 13:26:31.
n early November, assistant professor Mike Smanski published an article about a new breakthrough in this research, demonstrating for the first time this kind of genetic engineering was possible in the common fruit fly. This shows that researchers could engineer this work into spotted wing drosophila in the future. The University’s Smanski Lab has also studied this technique in mosquitoes, zebra fish and carp, but never with this type of fruit fly, he said. “These are all a new class of genetic pesticide, basically, that allow you to engineer the pest organism itself and convert that pest organism into the pesticide,” Smanski said. Through this work the researchers can create a pest that is biologically the same, but when the females mate with these genetically modified males, they will not produce viable offspring, he said. This sterile insect technique can be helpful not only in reducing the population of insects, but in reducing the impacts of insecticides on surrounding species and nearby ecosystems, said Feltman, a second-year biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics graduate student.
Further guidance required for assessment of gene drive technology, says EFSA
15137Euractiv, The World News Monitor, 2020-11-16 16:25:26.
Existing guidelines are adequate for evaluating risks associated with gene-drive modified insects, but further guidance is needed for some areas, most notably for environmental risk assessments. The evaluation was requested to explore the issue ahead of the consideration of any possible applications of the technology and is also designed to support the EU in discussions on the biosafety of GMOs in international fora such as the United Nations. It found that while existing guidelines are sufficient for evaluating risks associated with technology, further guidance is needed for some areas, such as molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post-market environmental monitoring.
Mutagenic chain reaction cannot be sufficiently controlled
15135Christoph Then, Testbiotech, 2020-11-16 16:21:27.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published the results of its public consultation on the risks of so-called gene drive organisms. Testbiotech accuses the authority of disguising the real dimension of the risks. Gene drives are designed to spread artificial genetic constructs throughout populations of wild species much faster than would be expected naturally. Currently, gene drives are being developed with the aid of tools such as the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors. There are plans, e.g. to apply gene drives in insects (flies and mosquitoes) or rodents (rats or mice). The aim is to replace or eradicate natural populations. Once started the process cannot be controlled effectively or reliably. The damage to humans, the environment and nature could be severe.
EFSA advises on risk assessment of engineered gene drives
15069EFSA, European Food and Safety Authority, 2020-11-12 18:15:34.
EFSA’s existing guidelines for the risk assessment of genetically modified animals are adequate for evaluating risks associated with gene drive modified insects. However, further guidance is needed for some areas, such as molecular characterisation, environmental risk assessment and post-market environmental monitoring, say EFSA’s experts on Genetically Modified Organisms.
Gene drive blocks malaria transmission in mosquitoes
15035labonline, labonline, 2020-11-09 15:46:59.
Employing a strategy known as ‘population modification’, which involves using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system to introduce genes preventing parasite transmission into mosquito chromosomes, University of California (UC) researchers have made a major advance in the use of genetic technologies to control the transmission of malaria parasites. Their work has been published in the journal Nature Communications.
The ethical way to alter organisms
15033K. Esvelt, Boston Globe, 2020-11-09 15:42:31.
As my colleagues and I first described in 2014, we can use CRISPR genome editing to duplicate the most powerful form of “gene drive,” a ubiquitous natural phenomenon that happens when a genetic change is inherited more frequently than usual. Encode the CRISPR machinery next to a useful edit we’ve made in the genome, and genome editing will reoccur in every generation, replacing the original with the edited version without limit. In principle, releasing such organisms would gradually alter entire wild populations and associated ecosystems.
Gene Drives: A Controversial Tool to Fight Malaria
15008H. Albert, LABIOTECH.eu, 2020-11-09 15:41:52.
The possibility of creating gene drives was introduced into the scientific community in 2003 by Austin Burt, a professor at Imperial College London. Burt was studying ‘selfish genes’ that can copy themselves into a specific target DNA sequence. He suggested that these genes, called homing endonucleases, could be used to make the majority of an organism’s offspring inherit a specific gene, instead of only half of it. This technology has a lot of potential. For example, it could be used to decimate populations of malaria-carrying mosquitoes by making the majority of their offspring male. However, there are concerns about the permanent nature of these genetic modifications and whether it could cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem it is used in.
Expert advises farmers to adopt gene drive-based pest control technology
15029S. Thompson, naija247news, 2020-11-09 15:36:25.
Dr Rose Gidado, County Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology(OFAB), has advised farmers to adopt the gene drive-based pest control technology. Gidado, also Deputy Director, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said the adoption would significantly help to restore Nigeria’s food crop industry. According to her, Nigerian agricultural system is dominated by the application of synthetic pesticides which have resulted in environmental pollution. Gidado said that it had contributed greatly to climate change, with lethal consequences like increased pest attack, decreased crop yield and extreme heat stress in plants. The scientist said the application of gene drive in Nigeria’s agricultural system, would help greatly in the control of deadly insect pests which cause damages to crops and reduction in food production.
Advances in genetic engineering test democracy’s capacity for good decision-making
15027N. Kofler and R. Taitingfong, Boston Globe, 2020-11-09 15:31:50.
New advances in genetic engineering and their application for environmental conservation and public health are further testing our democracy’s capacity for good decision-making. With minimal public input, the Environmental Protection Agency recently approved the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas. An application for the planting of GM American Chestnut trees, engineered to reproduce and spread in the wild, is currently under review by the US Department of Agriculture. And even more complex and powerful genetic technologies intended for environmental release are in the research pipeline.
Fighting Mosquito With GMO Mosquito: The Battle Brewing in the Florida Keys
15005S. MacLaughlin, NBC 6 South Florida, 2020-11-06 15:32:04.
Scientists are a few months into an experiment to stop the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito. Their weapon of choice? A genetically modified mosquito. But some environment advocates question the strategy. This year, the Florida Keys had an outbreak of Dengue fever, which was the first time that had happened in 10 years. It gives new urgency to the controversial effort to get rid of the Aedes aegypti, which has become harder to fight.
Florida will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes
14998S. McGlaun, Slash Gear, 2020-11-05 15:14:43.
Local officials in Florida have announced that they have approved 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released into the environment to reduce local populations of the bloodsucking creatures. The goal of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes is to help reduce the number of mosquitoes carrying diseases like dengue or the Zika virus. Approval to release the bugs came after environmental groups warned of unintended consequences.
UC researchers pioneer more effective method of blocking malaria transmission in mosquitoes
14898UCI, UCI News, 2020-11-03 14:11:01.
University of California, Irvine postdoctoral researcher Adriana Adolfi, in collaboration with colleagues at UCI, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, followed up on the group’s pioneering effort to develop CRISPR-based gene drive systems for making mosquito vectors resistant to transmitting malaria parasites by increasing gene drive effectiveness in female mosquito progeny.The second-generation gene drive system described in this paper can be applied to any of the several thousand genes that are essential for insects to survive or reproduce,” said UC San Diego Distinguished Professor Ethan Bier, a co-author of the study and science director at the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society. “While it was developed in fruit flies, this system is readily transportable to a broad selection of insect species that serve as vectors for devastating disorders such as Chagas disease, sleeping disease, leishmaniasis and arboviral diseases.”
Is Gene Editing the Answer to Eradicating Malaria in Africa?
14885Staff, ASH Clinical News, 2020-11-01 16:00:02.
Researchers are looking at a new technique to eradicate malaria: Engineering mosquitoes with a “gene drive” – a gene that when inserted into mosquitoes (or other organisms) will be passed on to nearly 100% of the offspring in the next generation, rather than just half the offspring – that rapidly spreads a mutation that removes the insects’ ability to spread the malaria-causing parasite.
Interview with Professor Austin Burt: Role of gene drive technology in the context of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy 2030
14874S. Dunphy, European Scientist, 2020-10-28 14:10:38.
In view of these conditions, leading scientists are calling on EU institutions to continue to back research into gene drive as a potential tool to protect public health and deliver on Europe’s biodiversity goals. Experts believe gene drive technologies could be a vital and effective solution in developing countries and islands, as well as across Europe.
Gene Drive: The What, How, Why, and Whether We Should
14865N. Pazhayam, The Pipettepen, 2020-10-26 19:12:07.
Under regular Mendelian inheritance, the probability of inheriting a particular allele from a heterozygous parent is 50% – this is because offspring can only inherit one or the other chromosome from each parent. However, gene drive is a technology that changes this probability and makes it much higher than 50%.
Mosquito transgenics and courtship songs
14824H. Hurd, BugBitten BMC, 2020-10-23 17:38:45.
As a female flies into the swarm she is detected by the sound of her wing beat and males identify females by a phonotactic response to the specific sound frequency produced by her wing beat. A male and female will then attune to each other by altering the frequency of their wingbeats in a form of reciprocal tuning that is highly specific.
WHO Refers to GM Mosquitoes as Beneficial Technology
14820ISAAA, Crop Biotech Update, 2020-10-21 17:27:43.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released its official statement to clarify its stance on the evaluation and use of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes and its use to control vector-borne diseases (VBD). WHO says it supports the investigation of all potentially beneficial technologies, and these include GM mosquitoes.
Researchers help complete world first wasp genome project
14798Staff, The National Tribune, 2020-10-21 15:12:01.
In a world first, New Zealand researchers have sequenced the genome of three wasps, two of which are invasive wasps in New Zealand, paving the way for new methods of control for these significant pests.
Researchers complete world first wasp genome project
14796University of Otago, Phys Org, 2020-10-21 15:07:20.
In a world first, New Zealand researchers have sequenced the genome of three wasps, two of which are invasive wasps in New Zealand, paving the way for new methods of control for these significant pests.
Fruit fly breakthrough puts killer mozzies on notice
14812V. Tressider, The Lighthouse, 2020-10-19 15:34:08.
A new designer fruit fly paves the way for scientists to replace disease-carrying mosquitoes with harmless, genetically modified versions, says Macquarie University researcher Dr Maciej Maselko.
WHO Releases a Position Statement on Genetically Modified Mosquitoes for the Control of Vector-Borne Diseases
14793E. R. Fletcher, Health Policy Watch, 2020-10-19 14:56:43.
WHO announced their support for the continued investigation into genetically modified mosquitoes as an alternative to existing interventions to reduce or prevent vector-borne diseases.
Driven to Exterminate
14724Z. Moloo and J. Thomas, etc group, 2020-10-14 18:16:08.
Gates’s ‘let’s deploy it’ response may not seem out of character, but it was an unusually gung ho response given how risky the technology is widely acknowledged to be.
Gene Drives Could Kill Mosquitoes And Suppress Herpesvirus Infections
14588A. Berezow, American Council on Science and Health, 2020-09-30 20:03:47.
A team of researchers writing in the journal Nature Communications has shown that a gene drive can be used to suppress infection with cytomegalovirus, a type of herpesvirus.
Do Africans Want Genetically Modified Mosquitoes?
14591U. Effiong, The Pursuit, 2020-09-30 13:38:38.
The recent publication by fellow Nigerian scientists—Patricia Okorie and colleagues—originally drew my attention to the issue of GMMs.
You should be excited that scientists are releasing 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes this year
14568L. Westreich, Massive Science, 2020-09-27 19:27:28.
GM mosquitoes are successful in reducing mosquito populations, and reducing disease spread
The Con Job at Mosquito Control Board
14571E. Russo and B. Wray, keysnews.com, 2020-09-26 19:32:07.
Shouldn’t there be a consensus among scholars, scientists, experts and the public that this new technology is safe?
Can a Genetically Modified Bug Combat a Global Farm Plague?
14470E. Nitler, Wired, 2020-09-24 17:24:48.
Executives from the US-owned, but UK-based, firm Oxitec and its multinational partner Bayer announced today that they have developed a fall armyworm that has a self-limiting gene introduced into the male of the species.
Gene Drive Control Worry Eased by Genetic Neutralizing Elements
14452Staff, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, 2020-09-21 17:17:09.
Bier and his colleagues have developed two new active genetic systems that address such risks by halting or eliminating gene drives in the wild, offering two new solutions based on elements developed in the common fruit fly. T
Biologists create new genetic systems to neutralize gene drives
14442University of California San Diego, ScienceDaily, 2020-09-18 11:24:50.
Now, scientists at the University of California San Diego and their colleagues have developed two new active genetic systems that address such risks by halting or eliminating gene drives in the wild.
Why the UK could end up deploying risky gene drives while ignoring natural biological control
14385J. Mathews, GM Watch, 2020-09-14 15:10:57.
First they cloned Dolly the sheep. Now they’re targeting grey squirrels
The Evolving Arsenal Against Mosquito-Born Diseases
14369J. Smith, Labiotech.eu, 2020-09-10 16:01:02.
As the global climate continues to warm, disease-spreading mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti are expected to establish themselves in the US and Europe.
Mutant mosquitoes: GM insects ‘engineered’ in ‘new approach to pest control’
14337T. Fish, EXPRESS, 2020-09-09 18:44:38.
This cutting-edge research provides the foundations for plans to prevent genetically modified organisms from reproducing with wild organisms.
Engineering speciation events in insects may be used to control harmful pests
14328University of Minnesota, Phys Org, 2020-09-08 17:55:45.
A team of scientists led by Mike Smanski, Ph.D., in the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) has generated speciation events in fruit flies so that engineered strains can reproduce normally with each other, but mating with unmodified flies results in non-viable offspring.
How to fight the deadly dengue virus? Make your own mosquitoes
14320J. Emont, Wall Street Journal, 2020-09-07 15:13:25.
When the bacteria-laden male mosquitoes are released into the open and mate with naturally-born females, the resultant eggs won’t hatch.
GMOs make war on mosquitoes
14323Staff, Kenosha News, 2020-09-05 15:13:38.
Given that recent record, we were a bit surprised to read that there was a ruckus over genetically modified mosquitoes going on in the Florida Keys.
Scientists Evaluate Environmental Impacts of Gene Drive Organisms
14334Staff, American Laboratory, 2020-09-04 18:06:56.
Researcher Marion Dolezel, from the Environment Agency Austria, and a team of international scientists published in the open-access journal BioRisk, discuss the potential risks and impacts on the environment.
Why Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Won’t Come to Texas Anytime Soon
14317C. Adams, RA News, 2020-09-04 15:03:04.
Talks about releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in Houston began in 2018 between Harris County and Oxitec, a United Kingdom-based company that produces sustainable technologies or transgenic methodologies to stem the impact of disease-spreading insects. Talk also began about a similar action in Monroe County, Fla.
Do Africans need genetically modified mosquitoes?
14261genetically modified, mosquito, oxitec, autocidal, SIT, perspective, malaria, gene drive synthetic, engagement,, Mail and Guardian, 2020-09-01 14:32:06.
The following is an updated version of an article I wrote for the University of Michigan Risk Science Centre a while ago:
Non-GMO approach reduces cases of mosquito-borne dengue by 77%
14239GM Watch, GM Watch, 2020-08-31 13:55:39.
A randomized field trial found that mosquitoes infected with a natural bacterium called Wolbachia reduced cases of dengue by an "extraordinary" 77%.
An accident waiting to happen: Tech company to release 750 MILLION GMO mosquitoes in Florida to fight dengue fever
14232Z. Sky, NEWSTARGET, 2020-08-30 20:31:13.
Oxitec plans to release 750 million OX5034s into the Florida Keys, something that sounds like the beginning of a doomed science-fiction movie. But the most shocking thing here is the fact that Oxitec received the EPA’s approval in May.
Genetically-modified mosquito plan offers hope for Keys, world
14256P. Goodman, keynews.com, 2020-08-29 14:25:12.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners voted 4-to-1 to approve a trial using Oxitec’s second-generation genetically modified mosquitoes. I
Bacteria-Laced Mosquitoes Limit Spread of Dengue
14244A. Heidt, The Scientist, 2020-08-29 14:05:32.
Researchers have infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes—the species responsible for passing on many diseases—with bacteria called Wolbachia with the intent of reducing the insects’ ability to pass on dengue to people.
The good mosquito versus the bad
14240D. Datta, Business Standard, 2020-08-29 14:01:00.
Starting 2021, around 750 million genetically modified (GM) Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes will be released in batches into the Florida Keys.
Florida Will Release 750 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Stop Disease Spread
14177A. Fahmy, verywell health, 2020-08-28 14:36:32.
The hope is to prevent the spread of Dengue fever, a painful virus acquired only by mosquito bite which made a reappearance in the Florida Keys in 2009.
Scientists infect mosquitoes with bacteria to stop the transmission of dengue fever in Indonesia, dropping infection rates by 77 percent
14250D. Avery, Daily Mail, 2020-08-28 14:15:52.
The team found that dengue infections were 77 percent lower in treated neighborhoods, compared to areas not exposed to the infected insects.
