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.
CRISPR/Cas9 -mediated gene knockout of Anopheles gambiae FREP1 suppresses malaria parasite infection
Tags: Anopheles, CRISPRDong, YS, Maria L.; Marois, Eric; Dimopoulos, George, PLOS Pathogens, 14:e1006898. 2018.
The causative agent of malaria, Plasmodium, has to complete a complex infection cycle in the Anopheles gambiae mosquito vector in order to reach the salivary gland from where it can be transmitted to a human host. The parasite’s development in the mosquito relies on numerous ...
Genetically engineered mosquitoes, Zika and other arboviruses, community engagement, costs, and patents: Ethical issues
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive syntheticMeghani, ZB, Christophe, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 12:e0006501. 2018.
We discuss here key ethical questions raised by the use of GE insects, with the aim of fostering discussion between the public, researchers, policy makers, healthcare organizations, and regulatory agencies at the local, national, and international levels. We affect that goal by ...
Carrying a selfish genetic element predicts increased migration propensity in free-living wild house mice
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, RodentsRunge, J-NL, Anna K., Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285:20181333. 2018.
Life is built on cooperation between genes, which makes it vulnerable to parasitism. Selfish genetic elements that exploit this cooperation can achieve large fitness gains by increasing their transmission relative to the rest of the genome. This leads to counter-adaptations that ...
CRISPR-based gene drives for pest control
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropodsMcFarlane, GRW, C. Bruce A.; Lillico, Simon G., Trends in Biotechnology, 36:130-133. 2018.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based gene drives (GDs) could be used to spread desirable genetic elements through wild populations. With the imminent development of this technology in vertebrates, we believe that it is timely to highlight two ...
Invasion and migration of spatially self-limiting gene drives: A comparative analysis
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, UnderdominanceDhole, S.; Vella, M. R; Lloyd, A. L.; Gould, F., Evolutionary Applications, 11:794-808. 2018.
Recent advances in research on gene drives have produced genetic constructs that could theoretically spread a desired gene (payload) into all populations of a species, with a single release in one place. This attribute has advantages, but also comes with risks and ethical ...
Can CRISPR-based gene drive be confined in the Wild? A question for molecular and population biology
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, UnderdominanceMarshall, JMA, Omar S., ACS Chemical Biology, 13:424-430. 2018.
The recent discovery of CRISPR and its application as a gene editing tool has enabled a range of gene drive systems to be engineered with greater ease. In order for the benefits of this technology to be realized, in some circumstances drive systems should be developed that are ...
Gene drives in our future: challenges of and opportunities for using a self-sustaining technology in pest and vector management
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyCollins, JP, BMC Proceedings, 12:9. 2018.
Gene drives are systems of biased inheritance that enhance the likelihood a sequence of DNA passes between generations through sexual reproduction and potentially throughout a local population and ultimately all connected populations of a species. Gaps in our knowledge of gene ...
Gene drive gets safety features limiting risk for a tool that could alter entire species
Collins, CH, Scientific American, 319:37-38. 2018.Research into a genetic engineering technology that can permanently change the traits of a population or even an entire species is progressing rapidly. The approach uses gene drives—genetic elements that pass from parents to unusually high numbers of their offspring, thereby ...
Unexpected patterns of segregation distortion at a selfish supergene in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsRoss, KGS, DeWayne, BMC Genetics, 19:101. 2018.
The Sb supergene in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta determines the form of colony social organization, with colonies whose inhabitants bear the element containing multiple reproductive queens and colonies lacking it containing only a single queen. Several features of this ...
Veni, vidi, vici: the success of wtf meiotic drivers in fission yeast
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive mechanisms, Genetic engineeringLópez Hernández, JFZ, Sarah E., Yeast, 35:447-453. 2018.
Meiotic drivers are selfish DNA loci that can bias their own transmission into gametes. Owing to their transmission advantages, meiotic drivers can spread in populations even if the drivers or linked variants decrease organismal fitness. Meiotic drive was first formally described ...
Development of a multi-locus CRISPR gene drive system in budding yeast
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Other Symbionts, Yeast and FungiYan, YF, Gregory C., Scientific reports, 8:17277-17277. 2018.
The discovery of CRISPR/Cas gene editing has allowed for major advances in many biomedical disciplines and basic research. One arrangement of this biotechnology, a nuclease-based gene drive, can rapidly deliver a genetic element through a given population and studies in fungi and ...
Population dynamics of underdominance gene drive systems in continuous space
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, UnderdominanceChamper, JZ, Joanna; Champer, Sam; Liu, Jingxian; Messer, Philipp W., bioRxiv, 449355:1-23. 2018.
Underdominance gene drive systems promise a mechanism for rapidly spreading payload alleles through a local population while otherwise remaining confined, unable to spread into neighboring populations due to their frequency-dependent dynamics. Such systems could provide a new ...
Recent advances in threshold-dependent gene drives for mosquitoes
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Toxin-antidote, UnderdominanceLeftwich, PTE, Matthew P.; Harvey-Samuel, Tim; Carabajal Paladino, Leonela Z.; Norman, Victoria C.; Alphey, Luke, Biochemical Society Transactions, 46:1203-1212. 2018.
Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya, cause morbidity and mortality around the world. Recent advances in gene drives have produced control methods that could theoretically modify all populations of a disease vector, from a single release, making whole ...
Tuning CRISPR-Cas9 gene grives in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive syntheticRoggenkamp, EG, Rachael M.; Schrock, Madison N.; Turnquist, Emily; Halloran, Megan; Finnigan, Gregory C., G3-Genes Genomes Genetics, 8:999. 2018.
Control of biological populations is an ongoing challenge in many fields, including agriculture, biodiversity, ecological preservation, pest control, and the spread of disease. In some cases, such as insects that harbor human pathogens (e.g., malaria), elimination or reduction of ...
Reducing resistance allele formation in CRISPR gene drive
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropodsChamper, JL, Jingxian; Oh, Suh Yeon; Reeves, Riona; Luthra, Anisha; Oakes, Nathan; Clark, Andrew G.; Messer, Philipp W., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115:5522-5527. 2018.
A functioning gene drive mechanism could fundamentally change our strategies for the control of vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and Zika. CRISPR homing gene drive promises such a mechanism, which could be used to rapidly spread genetic modifications among the ...
RPM-Drive: A robust, safe, and reversible gene drive system that remains functional after 200+ generations
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, UnderdominanceReed, FAA-M, Todd G.; Costantini, Maria S.; Láruson, Áki J.; Sutton, Jolene T., arXiv, 1806.05304:1-19. 2018.
Despite the advent of several novel, synthetic gene drive mechanisms and their potential to one-day control a number of devastating diseases, among other applications, practical use of these systems remains contentious and risky. In particular, there is little in the way of ...
The use of driving endonuclease genes to suppress mosquito vectors of malaria in temporally variable environments
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive syntheticLambert, BN, Ace; Burt, Austin; Godfray, H. Charles J., Malaria Journal, 17:154. 2018.
The use of gene drive systems to manipulate populations of malaria vectors is currently being investigated as a method of malaria control. One potential system uses driving endonuclease genes (DEGs) to spread genes that impose a genetic load. Previously, models have shown that ...
A CRISPR–Cas9 gene drive targeting doublesex causes complete population suppression in caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Other arthropods, Replicator/site directed nucleaseKyrou, KH, Andrew M.; Galizi, Roberto; Kranjc, Nace; Burt, Austin; Beaghton, Andrea K.; Nolan, Tony; Crisanti, Andrea, Nature Biotechnology, 36:1062–1066. 2018.
In the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae, the gene doublesex (Agdsx) encodes two alternatively spliced transcripts, dsx-female (AgdsxF) and dsx-male (AgdsxM), that control differentiation of the two sexes. The female transcript, unlike the male, contains an exon (exon 5) ...
Catch me if you can: A spatial model for a brake-driven gene drive reversal
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive syntheticCalvez, V,,Debarre, F., Girardin, Leo, arXiv, 1812.06641:1-30. 2018.
We successfully prove that, whenever the drive fitness is at most 50% of the wild-type one while the brake fitness is close to the wild-type one, co-extinction of the brake and the drive occurs in the long run.
Correction to ‘Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates’
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammalsProwse, TAAC, Phillip; Ross, Joshua V.; Pfitzner, Chandran; Wittmann, Talia; Thomas, Paul, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285:1-2. 2018.
Proc. R. Soc. B 284, 20170799. (Published Online 9 August 2017). (doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0799)We recently found an error in our calculation of the probability of a wild-type allele moving from s to j susceptible sites (), and acquiring the gene drive (), during gene-drive homing, ...
Rationally-engineered reproductive barriers using CRISPR & CRISPRa: an evaluation of the synthetic species concept in Drosophila melanogaster
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyWaters, AJC, Paolo; Gaboriau, David C. A.; Papathanos, Philippos Aris; Windbichler, Nikolai, Scientific Reports, 8:13125. 2018.
The ability to erect rationally-engineered reproductive barriers in animal or plant species promises to enable a number of biotechnological applications such as the creation of genetic firewalls, the containment of gene drives or novel population replacement and suppression ...
Ban on ‘gene drives’ is back on the UN’s agenda – worrying scientists
Callaway, E, Nature, 563:454-455. 2018.Government representatives from nearly 170 countries will this month consider whether to temporarily ban the release of organisms carrying gene drives — a controversial technology that can quickly propagate a chosen gene throughout a population. The technique has the potential ...
Modelling Allee effects in a transgenic mosquito population during range expansion
Tags: Ecology, EvolutionWalker, MB, Julie C.; Brown, Vicki; Childs, Lauren M., Journal of Biological Dynamics, 13:2-22. 2018.
Mosquitoes are vectors for many diseases that cause significant mortality and morbidity. As mosquito populations expand their range, they may undergo mate-finding Allee effects such that their ability to successfully reproduce becomes difficult at low population density. With new ...
Redkmer: An assembly-free pipeline for the identification of abundant and specific X-chromosome target sequences for X-shredding by CRISPR endonucleases
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropods, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Y-chromosomePapathanos, PAW, Nikolai, CRISPR Journal, 1:88-98. 2018.
CRISPR-based synthetic sex ratio distorters, which operate by shredding the X-chromosome during male meiosis, are promising tools for the area-wide control of harmful insect pest or disease vector species. X-shredders have been proposed as tools to suppress insect populations by ...
Production of YY Supermale and XY Physiological Female Common Carp for Potential Eradication of this Invasive Species
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Sex distorterM. Y. Jiang, X. X. Wu, K. X. Chen, H. R. Luo, W. Yu, S. T. Jia, Y. M. Li, Y. F. Wang, P. H. Yang, Z. Y. Zhu and W. Hu, Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 49:315-327. 2018.
The common carp, Cyprinus carpio, is the third most cultivated freshwater species worldwide, but is also considered an invasive species. The Trojan Y chromosome strategy is one of the most promising methods to eradicate this invasive species. However, obtaining fertile YY ...
B Chromosomes in populations of mammals revisited
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammalsVujoševi?, MR, Marija; Blagojevi?, Jelena, Genes, 9:487. 2018.
The study of B chromosomes (Bs) started more than a century ago, while their presence in mammals dates since 1965. As the past two decades have seen huge progress in application of molecular techniques, we decided to throw a glance on new data on Bs in mammals and to review them. ...
Behavior of homing endonuclease gene drives targeting genes required for viability or female fertility with multiplexed guide RNAs
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropods, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Risk and safetyOberhofer, GI, Tobin; Hay, Bruce A., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115:e9343. 2018.
Homing endonuclease gene (HEG)-based gene drive can bring about population suppression when genes required for viability or fertility are targeted. However, these strategies are vulnerable to failure through mechanisms that create alleles resistant to cleavage but that retain ...
Consequences of resistance evolution in a Cas9-based sex conversion-suppression gene drive for insect pest management
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropodsCarrami, Eli M., ME, Kolja N.; Ahmed, Hassan M. M.; Sánchez C., Héctor M.; Dippel, Stefan; Marshall, John M.; Wimmer, Ernst A., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115:6189-6194. 2018.
Resistance evolution caused by CRISPR/Cas9 gene-drive systems has a major impact on both the future scientific design of such gene-drive systems and on the politics of regulating experimentation and use of such systems. In our study, we show that in-frame drive-resistant alleles ...
Self-limiting population genetic control with sex-linked genome editors
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, Y-chromosomeBurt, AD, Anne, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285:20180776. 2018.
In male heterogametic species the Y chromosome is transmitted solely from fathers to sons, and is selected for based only on its impacts on male fitness. This fact can be exploited to develop efficient pest control strategies that use Y-linked editors to disrupt the fitness of ...
Advancing a new toolkit for conservation: From science to policy
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Risk and safetyNovak, BJM, T.; Phelan, R., CRISPR Journal, 1:11-15. 2018.
Climate change and non-native wildlife diseases are exacerbating persistent challenges to biodiversity such as habitat destruction, invasive species and over-harvesting. With these increasing threats there is a pressing need to expand the conservationists' toolbox. CRISPR-Cas9 ...
Gene drive: Evolved and synthetic
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Gene drive synthetic, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Toxin-antidote, Transmission distortion, X chromosome, Y-chromosomeBurt, AC, Andrea, ACS Chemical Biology, 13:343-346. 2018.
Drive is a process of accelerated inheritance from one generation to the next that allows some genes to spread rapidly through populations even if they do not contribute to—or indeed even if they detract from—organismal survival and reproduction. Genetic elements that can ...
Strong hybrid male incompatibilities impede the spread of a selfish chromosome between populations of a fly
Tags: Other arthropods, Population suppression, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortionVerspoor Rudi, LSJ, M. L.; Mannion Natasha, L. M.; Hurst Gregory, D. D.; Price Tom, A. R., Evolution Letters, 2:169-179. 2018.
Meiotically driving sex chromosomes manipulate gametogenesis to increase their transmission at a cost to the rest of the genome. The intragenomic conflicts they produce have major impacts on the ecology and evolution of their host species. However, their ecological dynamics ...
Transmission and drive involving parasitic B chromosomes
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Evolution, Gene driveJones, RN, Genes, 9:e388. 2018.
B chromosomes (Bs) are enigmatic additional elements in the genomes of thousands of species of plants, animals, and fungi. How do these non-essential, harmful, and parasitic chromosomes maintain their presence in their hosts, making demands on all the essential functions of their ...
Community engagement and field trials of genetically modified insects and animals
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Stakeholder engagementNeuhaus, C. P., Hastings Center Report, 48:25-36. 2018.
New techniques for the genetic modification of organisms are creating new strategies for addressing persistent public health challenges. For example, the company Oxitec has conducted field trials internationally?and has attempted to conduct field trials in the United States?of a ...
Making policies about emerging technologies
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, PolicyKaebnick, G. E. and M. K. Gusmano, Hastings Center Report, 48:S2-S11. 2018.
Can we make wise policy decisions about still-emerging technologies?decisions that are grounded in facts yet anticipate unknowns and promote the public's preferences and values? There is a widespread feeling that we should try. There also seems to be widespread agreement that the ...
Informed consent in field trials of gene-drive mosquitoes
Tags: Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementP. A. Kolopack and J. V. Lavery, Gates Open Research, 2017.
We argue that informed consent from individual research participants in gene drive trials may be required: (1) when blood and other forms of clinical data are collected from them, as will likely be the case in some studies involving epidemiological endpoints, such as the ...
Conservation demands safe gene drive
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyK. M. Esvelt and N. J. Gemmell, PLOS Biology, 15:e2003850. 2017.
Here, we explore the risk of accidental spread posed by self-propagating gene drive technologies, highlight new gene drive designs that might achieve better outcomes, and explain why we need open and international discussions concerning a technology that could have global ...
Spindle asymmetry drives non-Mendelian chromosome segregation
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Rodents, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortionT. Akera, L. Chmátal, E. Trimm, K. Yang, C. Aonbangkhen, D. M. Chenoweth, C. Janke, R. M. Schultz and M. A. Lampson, Science, 358:668. 2017.
Genetic elements compete for transmission through meiosis, when haploid gametes are created from a diploid parent. Selfish elements can enhance their transmission through a process known as meiotic drive. In female meiosis, selfish elements drive by preferentially attaching to ...
Trojan Females and Judas Goats: Evolutionary Traps as Tools in Wildlife Management
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Pest management, Sex distorterB. A. Robertson, R. S. Ostfeld and F. Keesing, Bioscience, 67:982-993. 2017.
Here, we bring together science from the pest-control, eco-evolutionary, and conservation communities to outline how evolutionary traps can be repurposed to eliminate or control pest species. We highlight case studies and devise strategies for the selection of appropriate cues to ...
The potential for the use of gene drives for pest control in New Zealand: a perspective
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Oceania, Pest management, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementP. K. Dearden, N. J. Gemmell, O. R. Mercier, P. J. Lester, M. J. Scott, R. D. Newcomb, T. R. Buckley, J. M. E. Jacobs, S. G. Goldson and D. R. Penman, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 48:225-244. 2017.
Here we describe the current state of gene drive technologies and present a series of examples to examine the potential benefits and problems arising from gene drive approaches for pest control in New Zealand.
The sterile male release approach as a method to control invasive amphibian populations: a preliminary study on Lithobates catesbeianus
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Descamps and A. De Vocht, Management of Biological Invasions, 8:361-370. 2017.
Widespread populations of the invasive species Lithobates catesbeianus (American bullfrog) are present in different parts of the world and are difficult to control. This study investigated the possibility to sterilize male individuals of this species in order to use the sterile ...
Using CRISPR-based gene drive for agriculture pest control
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementV. Courtier-Orgogozo, B. Morizot and C. Boëte, EMBO Reports, 18:1481. 2017.
The authors respond to comments to their publication 10.15252/embr.201744205
The optimal implementation of the Trojan Y chromosome eradication strategy of invasive species
Tags: Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Modeling, Pest management, Sex distorterM. R. Kelly and X. Y. Wang, Journal of Biological Systems, 25:399-418. 2017.
Invasive aquatic species continue to be a persistent problem around the world. The Trojan Y Chromosome (TYC) eradication strategy has recently been developed to help fight the problem in aquatic systems by targeting only the invasive species, sparing native marine stock. It ...
Illinois study advances possibility of genetic control for major agricultural weeds
Tags: Agriculture, Genetic biocontrolL. Quinn, ACES News, 2017.
Waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two aggressive weeds that threaten the food supply in North America, are increasingly hard to kill with commercially available herbicides. A novel approach known as genetic control could one day reduce the need for these chemicals. Now, scientists ...
Current vector control challenges in the fight against malaria
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, ResistanceG. Benelli and J. C. Beier, Acta Tropica, 174:91-96. 2017.
The majority of National Malaria Control Programs in Africa still rely on indoor residual spraying (IRS) and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). These methods reduce malaria incidence but generally have little impact on malaria prevalence. In addition to outdoor transmission, ...
The IAEA and Food – Tsetse Fly Eradication – Senegal
Tags: Other arthropods, Sterile insect technique (SIT)International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA/FAO, 2017.
Senegal has successfully integrated the Sterile Insect Technique into its tsetse fly control project in the Niayes region. This nuclear technique suppresses or even eradicates insect pest by using radiation to sterilize primarily males. The disease that tsetse flies transmit can ...
Trends in the development of mammalian pest control technology in New Zealand
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Oceania, Pest managementC. T. Eason, L. Shapiro, S. Ogilvie, C. King and M. Clout, New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 44:267-304. 2017.
The use of new toxins with advantages in specific settings should be complemented by improvements in resetting trap technology, barrier approaches, and novel biocontrol and genetic concepts. Sodium fluoroacetate (1080) and other important tools have been retained; we have the ...
A maternal-effect selfish genetic element in Caenorhabditis elegans
Tags: Other invertebrates, Selfish genetic elements, Toxin-antidote, Transmission distortionE. Ben-David, A. Burga and L. Kruglyak, Science, 356:1051. 2017.
We discovered a selfish element causing embryonic lethality in crosses between wild strains of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
Poisons, antidotes, and selfish genes
Tags: Other invertebrates, Selfish genetic elements, Toxin-antidote, Transmission distortionN. Phadnis, Science, 356:1013. 2017.
On page1051 of this issue, BenDavid et al . (3) chase down a serendipitous observation of an anomaly in genetic crosses to unmask a toxin-antidote type of selfish system in worms.
Agricultural pest control with CRISPR-based gene drive: time for public debate
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyV. Courtier-Orgogozo, B. Morizot and C. Boëte, EMBO Reports, 18:878-880. 2017.
Gene drive technology to control disease vectors or pests has great potential for addressing humanitarian and public health problems. Its application for pest control in agriculture, however, raises important environmental, social and ethical issues.
