Scholarly Literature
This is an aggregation of scholarly literature from peer-reviewed journals, bioRxiv , medRxiv and arXiv preprint servers focused on natural and engineered selfish genetic elements and genetic biocontrol. New citations are added as they appear. This content is intended for anyone interested in the scholarly literature on gene drive and genetic biocontrol.
Rodents as vehicle for delivery of transgenic bacteria to make paratransgenic sand fly vectors of cutaneous leishmaniasis in field condition
Ghassemi, Marzieh Akhavan, Amir Ahmad Zahraei-Ramazani, Alireza Yakhchali, Bagher Arandian, Mohammad Hossein Jafari, Reza Akhlaghi, Maryam Shirani-Bidabadi, Leila Azam, Kamal Koosha, Mona Oshaghi, Mohammad Ali, Scientific Reports, 13:14912. 2023.Vector-borne diseases, among them leishmaniasis, cause more than 700,000 deaths annually. The lack of an effective vaccination and the increasing resistance of sand flies to insecticides require the urgent development of innovative approaches to contain the disease. The use of ...
Molecular Evidence of Wolbachia Species in Wild-Caught Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes in Four States of Northeast India
Tags: Aedes, Incompatible insect technique, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaVinayagam, S. Nirmolia, T. Chetry, S. Kumar, N. P. Saini, P. Bhattacharyya, D. R. Bhowmick, I. P. Sattu, K. Patgiri, S. J., Journal of Tropical Medicine, 2023.
Wolbachia, a Gram-negative intracellular bacterium, naturally infects many arthropods, including mosquito vectors responsible for the spread of arboviral diseases such as Zika, chikungunya, and dengue fever. Certain Wolbachia strains are involved in inhibiting arbovirus ...
Jamestown Canyon virus is transmissible by Aedes aegypti and is only moderately blocked by Wolbachia co-infection
Tags: Aedes, Arbovirus, Dengue, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaM. J. Lau, H. L. C. Dutra, M. J. Jones, B. P. McNulty, A. M. Diaz, F. Ware-Gilmore and E. A. McGraw, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 17. 2023.
Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), a negative-sense arbovirus, is increasingly common in the upper Midwest of the USA. Transmitted by a range of mosquito genera, JCV's primary amplifying host is white-tailed deer. Aedes aegypti is responsible for transmitting various positive-sense ...
The role of conflict in shaping plant biodiversity
Tags: Agriculture, Genetic incompatibilities, Selfish genetic elementsJ. M. Coughlan, New Phytologist, 2023.
Although intrinsic postzygotic reproductive barriers can play a fundamental role in speciation, their underlying evolutionary causes are widely debated. One hypothesis is that incompatibilities result from genomic conflicts. Here, I synthesize the evidence that conflict generates ...
Transgenic approaches in medical entomology: 2022 highlights
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified organismsM. L. Simões, Journal of Medical Entomology, tjad105. 2023.
Transgenesis has emerged as a powerful tool to control arthropod vectors and the diseases they transmit. Here, we highlight the latest developments on transgenic approaches in ticks, Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes, based on recent findings and significant papers from 2022. We ...
Meiotic segregation and post-meiotic drive of the Festuca pratensis B chromosome
Tags: Agriculture, Chromosomal drive, Transmission distortionR. Ebrahimzadegan, J. Fuchs, J. Chen, V. Schubert, A. Meister, A. Houben and G. Mirzaghaderi, Chromosome Research, 31:26. 2023.
In many species, the transmission of B chromosomes (Bs) does not follow the Mendelian laws of equal segregation and independent assortment. This deviation results in transmission rates of Bs higher than 0.5, a process known as “chromosome drive”. Here, we studied the behavior ...
A synthetic biology approach to transgene expression
Tags: Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Synthetic biologyP. Leftwich, T. , J. Purcell, C. , M. Anderson, A. E. , R. Fragkoudis, S. Basu, G. Lycett, T. and L. Alphey, bioRxiv, 2023.08.31.555539. 2023.
The ability to control gene expression is pivotal in genetic engineering and synthetic biology. However, in most non-model and pest insect species, empirical evidence for predictable modulation of gene expression levels is lacking. This knowledge gap is critical for genetic ...
Does ignoring transmission dynamics lead to underestimation of the impact of interventions against mosquito-borne disease?
Tags: Dengue, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaS. Cavany, J. Huber, H. , A. Wieler, Q. M. Tran, M. Alkuzweny, M. Elliott, G. España, S. Moore, M. and T. A. Perkins, BMJ Global Health, 8:e012169. 2023.
New vector-control technologies to fight mosquito-borne diseases are urgently needed, the adoption of which depends on efficacy estimates from large-scale cluster-randomised trials (CRTs). The release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes is one promising strategy to curb dengue virus ...
Wolbachia wMel strain-mediated effects on dengue virus vertical transmission from Aedes aegypti to their offspring
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaK. Duong Thi Hue, D. da Silva Goncalves, V. Tran Thuy, L. Thi Vo, D. Le Thi, N. Vu Tuyet, G. Nguyen Thi, T. Huynh Thi Xuan, N. Nguyen Minh, P. Nguyen Thanh, S. Yacoub and C. P. Simmons, Parasites and Vectors, 16:308. 2023.
Background Dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to -4) can be transmitted vertically in Aedes aegpti mosquitoes. Whether infection with the wMel strain of the endosymbiont Wolbachia can reduce the incidence of vertical transmission of DENV from infected females to their offspring is ...
A migration-selection model in genetic engineering
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, ModelingY. Qi and L. Su, Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications, 75:103983. 2023.
We investigate a migration-selection system arising from CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering, which describes the evolution of the frequencies of a wild allele O, a drive allele D, and a brake allele B. The purpose is to see whether the drive allele D can persist in the population ...
High-efficiency gene editing in Anopheles sinensis using ReMOT control
Tags: Anopheles, Genetically modified mosquitoesX.-l. Yang, X. Ling, Q. Sun, P.-p. Qiu, K. Xiang, u.-f. JHong, S.-l. He, J. Chen, X. Ding, H. Hu, Z.-b. He, C. Zhou, B. Chen and L. Qiao, bioRxiv, 2023.08.29.555096. 2023.
CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing provides an effective method for deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying mosquito development and mosquito-borne disease transmission, as well as for exploring genetic control strategies. However, delivering the Cas9 ribonucleoprotein ...
A recombinant Aspergillus oryzae fungus transmitted from larvae to adults of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes inhibits malaria parasite oocyst development
Tags: Anopheles, Malaria, Other SymbiontsL. Kianifard, A. M. Rafiqi, O. Akcakir, A. S. I. Aly, P. F. Billingsley and S. Uysal, Scientific Reports, 13:12177. 2023.
The control of malaria parasite transmission from mosquitoes to humans is hampered by decreasing efficacies of insecticides, development of drug resistance against the last-resort antimalarials, and the absence of effective vaccines. Herein, the anti-plasmodial transmission ...
Female meiotic drive in plants: mechanisms and dynamics
Tags: Agriculture, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionF. Finseth, Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 82:102101. 2023.
Female meiosis is fundamentally asymmetric, creating an arena for genetic elements to compete for inclusion in the egg to maximize their transmission. Centromeres, as mediators of chromosomal segregation, are prime candidates to evolve via ‘female meiotic drive’. According to ...
Influence of environmental conditions on mass rearing parameters of tsetse flies at the Bobo-Dioulasso insectary (Burkina Faso): retrospective study
Tags: Other arthropods, Sterile insect technique (SIT)K. S. M. Dera, B. A. Kaboré, S. Pagabeleguem, A. A. Ouedraogo, A. I. Toé, M. Ira, A. M. G. Belem and G. M. S. O. Sanou, International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 17:1020-1032. 2023.
With the goal of eradicating tsetse flies and trypanosomiasis in Africa, several control methods have been developed. One of this is the biological control through the application of the sterile insect technique (SIT) as a part of an area-wide integrated pest management. This ...
Female meiotic drive shapes the distribution of rare inversion polymorphisms in Drosophila melanogaster
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Modeling, Transmission distortionS. A. Koury, Genetics, 2023.
In all species, new chromosomal inversions are constantly being formed by spontaneous rearrangement and then stochastically eliminated from natural populations. In Drosophila, when new chromosomal inversions overlap with a pre-existing inversion in the population, their rate of ...
Gene drives for invasive wasp control: Extinction is unlikely, with suppression dependent on dispersal and growth rates
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Oceania, Other arthropods, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseP. J. Lester, D. O'Sullivan and G. L. W. Perry, Ecological Applications, 2023.
Abstract Gene drives offer a potentially revolutionary method for pest control over large spatial extents. These genetic modifications spread deleterious variants through a population and have been proposed as methods for pest suppression or even eradication. We examined the ...
Proliferation and dissemination of killer meiotic drive loci
Tags: Selfish genetic elements, Toxin-antidote, Transmission distortionE. C. Lai and A. A. Vogan, Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 82:102100. 2023.
Killer meiotic drive elements are selfish genetic entities that manipulate the sexual cycle to promote their own inheritance via destructive means. Two broad classes are sperm killers, typical of animals and plants, and spore killers, which are present in ascomycete fungi. Killer ...
Wolbachia has subtle effects on thermal preference in highly inbred Drosophila melanogaster which vary with life stage and environmental conditions
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Other Symbionts, WolbachiaA. Strunov, C. Schoenherr and M. Kapun, Scientific Reports, 13:13792. 2023.
Temperature fluctuations are challenging for ectotherms which are not able to regulate body temperature by physiological means and thus have to adjust their thermal environment via behavior. However, little is yet known about whether microbial symbionts influence thermal ...
Effect of the Sterile Insect Technique and Augmentative Parasitoid Releases in a Fruit Fly Suppression Program in Mango-Producing Areas of Southeast Mexico
Tags: Biological control, Fruit fly, Sterile insect technique (SIT)J. Cancino, P. Montoya, F. O. Gálvez, C. Gálvez and P. Liedo, Insects, 14. 2023.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), by means of sterile male releases of Anastrepha ludens (Loew), coupled with Augmentative Biological Control (ABC), by releasing the parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead), was evaluated in a commercial mango production area for one ...
The impact of predators of mosquito larvae on Wolbachia spreading dynamics
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaZ. Zhu, Y. Hui and L. Hu, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 17:2249024. 2023.
Dengue fever creates more than 390 million cases worldwide yearly. The most effective way to deal with this mosquito-borne disease is to control the vectors. In this work we consider two weapons, the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia and predators of mosquito larvae, for combating ...
wMel Wolbachia alters female post-mating behaviors and physiology in the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti
Tags: Aedes, Arbovirus, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaJ. Osorio, S. Villa-Arias, C. Camargo, L. F. Ramírez-Sánchez, L. M. Barrientos, C. Bedoya, G. Rúa-Uribe, S. Dorus, C. Alfonso-Parra and F. W. Avila, Communications Biology, 6:865. 2023.
Globally invasive Aedes aegypti disseminate numerous arboviruses that impact human health. One promising method to control Ae. aegypti populations is transinfection with Wolbachia pipientis, which naturally infects ~40–52% of insects but not Ae. aegypti. Transinfection of Ae. ...
Optimizing the delivery of self-disseminating vaccines in fluctuating wildlife populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Other mammalsC. Schreiner, A. Basinski, C. Remien and S. Nuismer, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 17:e0011018. 2023.
Author summary Pathogens such as Ebola, rabies, and Lassa virus that usually infect wildlife can jump to the human population. In the worst case, this can lead to outbreaks or pandemics such as happened in 2014 with Ebola and 2019 with SARS-CoV-2. One approach to mitigate the ...
Wolbachia infection at least partially rescues the fertility and ovary defects of several new Drosophila melanogaster bag of marbles protein-coding mutants
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Fruit fly, WolbachiaW. Miwa and F. A. Charles, bioRxiv, 2023.03.20.532813. 2023.
The D. melanogaster protein coding gene bag of marbles (bam) plays a key role in early male and female reproduction by forming complexes with partner proteins to promote differentiation in gametogenesis. Like another germline gene, Sex lethal, bam genetically interacts with the ...
Single-cell profiling of Anopheles gambiae spermatogenesis defines the onset of meiotic silencing and premeiotic overexpression of the X chromosome
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Genetically modified mosquitoesN. Page, C. Taxiarchi, D. Tonge, J. Kuburic, E. Chesters, A. Kriezis, K. Kyrou, L. Game, T. Nolan and R. Galizi, Commun Biol, 6:850. 2023.
Understanding development and genetic regulation in the Anopheles gambiae germline is essential to engineer effective genetic control strategies targeting this malaria mosquito vector. These include targeting the germline to induce sterility or using regulatory sequences to drive ...
Bioinformatic and literature assessment of toxicity and allergenicity of a CRISPR-Cas9 engineered gene drive to control Anopheles gambiae the mosquito vector of human malaria
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Risk assessmentA. Qureshi and J. B. Connolly, Malaria Journal, 22:234. 2023.
Population suppression gene drive is currently being evaluated, including via environmental risk assessment (ERA), for malaria vector control. One such gene drive involves the dsxFCRISPRh transgene encoding (i) hCas9 endonuclease, (ii) T1 guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the doublesex ...
Assessing the suitability of YY males and ZZ females as an invasive species population control method across life histories
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Fish, Invasive species, Sex distorterR. A. Erickson, H. M. Thompson, S. A. Kageyama, G. M. Andriacchi, A. R. Cupp, R. Patiño and J. J. Amberg, Biological Invasions, 25:3737-3751. 2023.
Natural resource managers use tools to control invasive species. In theory, stocking YY males or ZZ females would allow managers to skew sex ratios until populations collapse. In combination with other suppression methods, such as removal, this approach could be incorporated into ...
Paternal genome elimination: patterns and mechanisms of drive and silencing
Tags: Transmission distortionM. Herbette and L. Ross, Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 81. 2023.
In thousands of arthropod species, males inherit, but subsequently eliminate the entire haploid genome of their father. However, why this peculiar reproductive strategy evolved repeatedly across diverse species and what mechanisms are involved in paternal genome elimination (PGE) ...
Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1 symbiont suppresses malaria transmission by anopheline mosquitoes
Tags: Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Other SymbiontsW. Huang, J. Rodrigues, E. Bilgo, J. R. Tormo, J. D. Challenger, C. De Cozar-Gallardo, I. Pérez-Victoria, F. Reyes, P. Castañeda-Casado, E. J. Gnambani, D. F. d. S. Hien, M. Konkobo, B. Urones, I. Coppens, A. Mendoza-Losana, L. Ballell, A. Diabate, T. S., Science, 381:533-540. 2023.
Malaria control demands the development of a wide range of complementary strategies. We describe the properties of a naturally occurring, non?genetically modified symbiotic bacterium, Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1, which was isolated from mosquitoes incapable of sustaining the ...
Suppression Trial through an Integrated Vector Management of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) Based on the Sterile Insect Technique in a Non-Isolated Area in Spain
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)C. Tur, D. Almenar, M. Zacarés, S. Benlloch-Navarro, I. Pla and V. Dalmau, Insects, 14. 2023.
In recent years, Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1984) has expanded its distribution globally due to its high ecological plasticity. This expansion has increased the population’s susceptibility to contracting diseases such as dengue, Zika, and chikungunya, among others, which are ...
wMel replacement of dengue-competent mosquitoes is robust to near-term change
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaV. N. Vásquez, L. M. Kueppers, G. Rašić and J. M. Marshall, Nature Climate Change, 13:848-855. 2023.
Rising temperatures are impacting the range and prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases. A promising biocontrol technology replaces wild mosquitoes with those carrying the virus-blocking Wolbachia bacterium. Because the most widely used strain, wMel, is adversely affected by heat ...
Susceptibility of Wolbachia mosquito control to temperature shifts
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Population modification/replacement, WolbachiaE. P. Caragata, Nature Climate Change, 13:767-768. 2023.
Vásquez and colleagues consider the potential impacts of increasing and variable temperatures on Wolbachia-based population-replacement interventions. Previous laboratory experiments have highlighted the temperature-sensitive nature of Wolbachia, with high average daily ...
Ability of a selfish B chromosome to evade genome elimination in the jewel wasp, Nasonia vitripennis
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Other arthropods, Selfish genetic elements, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionH. Lee, P. Seo, S. Teklay, E. Yuguchi, E. D. Benetta, J. H. Werren and P. M. Ferree, Heredity, 2023.
B chromosomes are non-essential, extra chromosomes that can exhibit transmission-enhancing behaviors, including meiotic drive, mitotic drive, and induction of genome elimination, in plants and animals. A fundamental but poorly understood question is what characteristics allow B ...
X chromosome drive is constrained by sexual selection and influences ornament evolution
Tags: Other arthropods, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortionK. A. Paczolt, G. T. Welsh and G. S. Wilkinson, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290:20230929. 2023.
Experimental evolution provides an integrative method for revealing complex interactions among evolutionary processes. One such interaction involves sex-linked selfish genetic elements and sexual selection. X-linked segregation distorters, a type of selfish genetic element, ...
Effects of γ-Irradiation on Mating Behavior of Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae)
Tags: Invasive species, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. Cristofaro, C. Fornari, F. Mariani, A. Cemmi, M. Guedj, M. L. Ben Jamaa, M. Msaad Guerfali, E. Tabone, R. Castellana, R. Sasso and S. Musmeci, Insects, 14. 2023.
Red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier 1790) is a highly invasive species originating from Southeast Asia and Melanesia. Over the past 30 years, this alien pest has spread extensively in the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin. Its endophagous larvae feed on ...
First Detection and Genetic Identification of Wolbachia Endosymbiont in Field-Caught Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Mosquitoes Collected from Southern Taiwan
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Incompatible insect techniqueL.-L. Chao and C.-M. Shih, Microorganisms, 11. 2023.
The prevalence and genetic character of Wolbachia endosymbionts in field-collected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were examined for the first time in Taiwan. A total of 665 Ae. aegypti were screened for Wolbachia infection using a PCR assay targeting the Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) ...
Cost-effectiveness of Precision Guided SIT for Control of Anopheles gambiae in the Upper River Region, The Gambia
Tags: Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Sterile insect technique (SIT)G. William, R. Robyn, M. Agastya, M. S. C. Hector, S. Andrea, Z. David, G. I. Patrick, D. Umberto, Alessandro, M. M. John and A. Omar, bioRxiv, 2023.07.20.549762. 2023.
Precision-guided sterile insect technique (pgSIT) is an extremely promising vector control intervention that can reduce and potentially eliminate the unacceptable malaria burden, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we explore the cost effectiveness of using this approach in ...
Eliminating Malaria Vectors with Precision Guided Sterile Males
Tags: Anopheles, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)L. S. Andrea, A. A. Reema, J. P. James, L. C. Martha, C. Sanle, M. Agastya, M. S. C. Hector, A. Igor, M. M. John and S. A. Omar, bioRxiv, 2023.07.20.549947. 2023.
Controlling the principal African malaria vector, the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, is considered essential to curtail malaria transmission. However existing vector control technologies rely on insecticides, which are becoming increasingly ineffective. Sterile insect technique ...
A natural gene drive system confers reproductive isolation in rice
Tags: Agriculture, Toxin-antidote, Transmission distortionC. Wang, J. Wang, J. Lu, Y. Xiong, Z. Zhao, X. Yu, X. Zheng, J. Li, Q. Lin, Y. Ren, Y. Hu, X. He, C. Li, Y. Zeng, R. Miao, M. Guo, B. Zhang, Y. Zhu, Y. Zhang, W. Tang, Y. Wang, B. Hao, Q. Wang, S. Cheng, X. He, B. Yao, J. Gao, X. Zhu, H. Yu, Y. Wang, Y. S, Cell, 2023.
Hybrid sterility restricts the utilization of superior heterosis of indica-japonica inter-subspecific hybrids. In this study, we report the identification of RHS12, a major locus controlling male gamete sterility in indica-japonica hybrid rice. We show that RHS12 consists of two ...
Population suppression by release of insects carrying a dominant sterile homing gene drive targeting doublesex in Drosophila
Tags: CRISPR, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Sterile insect technique (SIT), Synthetic biologyC. Weizhe, G. Jialiang, L. Yiran and C. Jackson, bioRxiv, 2023.07.17.549342. 2023.
Gene drive alleles, which bias their own inheritance and increase in frequency, show great promise for blocking disease transmission or directly suppressing pest populations. The most common engineered drive system is the CRISPR homing drive, which converts wild-type alleles to ...
Modeling the Impact of Migration on Mosquito Population Suppression
Tags: Incompatible insect technique, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaM. Huang and J. Yu, Qualitative Theory of Dynamical Systems, 22:134. 2023.
The Wolbachia-induced incompatible insect technique is a promising strategy for controlling wild mosquito populations. However, recent experimental studies have shown that mosquito migration into target areas dilutes the strategy’s effectiveness. In this work, we formulate a ...
Engineered Gut Symbiotic Bacterium-Mediated RNAi for Effective Control of Anopheles Mosquito Larvae
Tags: Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Other SymbiontsJ. J. Ding, C. L. Cui, G. D. Wang, G. Wei, L. Bai, Y. F. Li, P. L. Sun, L. Dong, Z. C. Liu, J. Q. Yun, F. Li, K. Li, L. He and S. B. Wang, Microbiology Spectrum, 2023.
Anopheles mosquitoes are the primary vectors for the transmission of malaria parasites, which poses a devastating burden on global public health and welfare. The recent invasion of Anopheles stephensi in Africa has made malaria eradication more challenging due to its outdoor ...
New germline Cas9 promoters show improved performance for homing gene drive
Tags: CRISPR, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Replicator/site directed nucleaseD. Jie, C. Weizhe, J. Xihua, X. Xuejiao, Y. Emily, Z. Ruizhi, Z. Yuqi, M. Matt, W. M. Philipp and C. Jackson, bioRxiv, 2023.07.16.549205. 2023.
Gene drive systems could be a viable strategy to prevent pathogen transmission or suppress vector populations by propagating drive alleles with super-Mendelian inheritance. CRISPR-based homing gene drives, perhaps the most powerful gene drive strategy, convert wild type alleles ...
Optimization of Dieldrin Selection for the Genetic Sexing of Aedes albopictus
Tags: Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Scussel, B. Gaudillat, J. Esnault, Q. Lejarre, M. Duployer, D. Messaoudi, P. Mavingui, P. Tortosa and J. Cattel, Insects, 14. 2023.
The mass production of mosquitoes at an industrial scale requires efficient sex separation, which can be achieved through mechanical, genetic or artificial intelligence means. Compared with other methods, the genetic sexing approach offers the advantage of limiting costs and ...
Teosinte Pollen Drive guides maize domestication and evolution by RNAi
Tags: Agriculture, Chromosomal drive, Transmission distortionB. Berube , E. Ernst, J. Cahn, B. Roche, C. d. S. Alves, A. Scheben, A. Siepel, J. Ross-Ibarra, J. Kermicle and R. Martienssen, bioRxiv, 2023.07.12.548689. 2023.
Meiotic drivers subvert Mendelian expectations by manipulating reproductive development to bias their own transmission. Chromosomal drive typically functions in asymmetric female meiosis, while gene drive is normally postmeiotic and typically found in males. Using single molecule ...
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Sex distorter, Wolbachia
N. Wybouw, E. Van Reempts, J. Zarka, F. Zélé and D. Bonte, Heredity, 2023.
Maternally transmitted symbionts such as Wolbachia can alter sex allocation in haplodiploid arthropods. By biasing population sex ratios towards females, these changes in sex allocation may facilitate the spread of symbionts. In contrast to symbiont-induced cytoplasmic ...
Fighting the battle against evolution: designing genetically modified organisms for evolutionary stability
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, Synthetic biologyM. Arbel-Groissman, I. Menuhin-Gruman, D. Naki, S. Bergman and T. Tuller, Trends in Biotechnology, 2023.
Synthetic biology has made significant progress in many areas, but a major challenge that has received limited attention is the evolutionary stability of synthetic constructs made of heterologous genes. The expression of these constructs in microorganisms, that is, production of ...
Dual effector population modification gene-drive strains of the African malaria mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population modification/replacementR. Carballar-Lejarazú, Y. Dong, T. B. Pham, T. Tushar, R. M. Corder, A. Mondal, H. M. Sánchez C, H.-F. Lee, J. M. Marshall, G. Dimopoulos and A. A. James, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120:e2221118120. 2023.
Proposed genetic approaches for reducing human malaria include population modification, which introduces genes into vector mosquitoes to reduce or prevent parasite transmission. We demonstrate the potential of Cas9/guide RNA (gRNA)?based gene-drive systems linked to dual ...
The cellular lives of Wolbachia
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaJ. Porter and W. Sullivan, Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2023.
Wolbachia are successful Gram-negative bacterial endosymbionts, globally infecting a large fraction of arthropod species and filarial nematodes. Efficient vertical transmission, the capacity for horizontal transmission, manipulation of host reproduction and enhancement of host ...
Estimating mosquito abundance and population suppression in an incompatible insect technique study
Tags: Aedes, Incompatible insect technique, ModelingL. Griffin, D. Pagendam, C. Drovandi, B. Trewin and N. W. Beebe, Journal of Applied Ecology, 2023.
Our model can provide valuable insights that can shape decision support systems in sterile insect technique and incompatible insect technique programmes operating over large geographical scales. The model helps determine how many sterile/incompatible insects should be released ...
Genome and Transcriptome Analyses Facilitate Genetic Control of Wohlfahrtia magnifica, a Myiasis-Causing Flesh Fly
Tags: Agriculture, Genetic biocontrol, Other mammalsZ. Jia, S. Hasi, D. Zhan, B. Hou, C. Vogl and P. A. Burger, Insects, 14. 2023.
Myiasis caused by Wohlfahrtia magnifica is a widespread parasitic infestation in mammals. The infested host suffers from damage as the developing larvae feed on its tissues. For the control of myiasis infestation, genetic methods have been shown to be effective and promising as ...
