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.
Transposable element insertion location bias and the dynamics of gene drive in mosquito populations
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive syntheticRasgon, JLG, F., Insect Molecular Biology, 14:493-500. 2005.
Some vector-borne disease control strategies using transgenic mosquitoes require transgene spread to high frequency in populations. Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that replicate and transpose within the genomes of other organisms and may therefore be represented in ...
Segregation distortion in hybrids between the Bogota and USA subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionOrr, HAI, S., Genetics, 169:671-682. 2005.
We show that, contrary to claims in the literature, "sterile" males resulting from the cross of the Bogota and USA subspecies of Drosophila pseudoobscura are weakly fertile. Surprisingly, these hybrid males produce almost all daughters when crossed to females of any genotype ...
Degeneration and domestication of a selfish gene in yeast: Molecular evolution versus site-directed mutagenesis
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Replicator/site directed nucleaseKoufopanou, VB, A., Molecular Biology and Evolution, 22:1535-1538. 2005.
VDE is a homing endonuclease gene in yeasts with an unusual evolutionary history including horizontal transmission, degeneration, and domestication into the mating-type switching locus HO. We investigate here the effects of these features on its molecular evolution. In addition, ...
Meiotic drive at the Om locus in wild-derived inbred mouse strains
Tags: Ecology, Other mammals, Transmission distortionKim, KT, S.; Howard, I. B.; Bell, T. A.; Doherty, H. E.; Ideraabdullah, F.; Detwiler, D. A.; De Villena, F. P. M., Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 84:487-492. 2005.
Meiotic drive is an evolutionary force in which natural selection is uncoupled from organismal fitness. Recently, it has been proposed that meiotic drive and genetic drift represent major forces in the evolution of the mammalian karyotype. Meiotic drive involves two types of ...
Genetic linkage between a sexually selected trait and X chromosome meiotic drive
Tags: Evolution, Other arthropods, X chromosomeJohns, PMW, L. L.; Wilkinson, G. S., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 272:2097-2103. 2005.
Previous studies on the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni, have shown that males with long eye-stalks win contests and are preferred by females, and artificial selection on male relative eye span alters brood sex-ratios. Subsequent theory proposes that X-linked meiotic drive ...
Gene drive systems in mosquitoes: rules of the road
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropods, Risk and safetyJames, AA, Trends in Parasitology, 21:64-67. 2005.
Population replacement strategies for controlling transmission of mosquito-borne diseases call for the introgression of antipathogen effector genes into vector populations. It is anticipated that these genes, if present at high enough frequencies, will impede transmission of the ...
A novel meiotic drive locus almost completely distorts segregation in Mimulus (monkeyflower) hybrids
Tags: Ecology, Transmission distortionFishman, LW, J. H., Genetics, 169:347-353. 2005.
We report the discovery, mapping, and characterization of a meiotic drive locus (D) exhibiting nearly 100% nonrandom transmission in hybrids between two species of yellow monkeyflowers, outcrossing Mimulus guttatus and selfing M. nasutus. Only 1% of F-2 hybrids were M. nasutus ...
Sex chromosome meiotic drive in hybrid males of the common shrew (Sorex araneus)
Tags: Other mammals, X chromosomeFedyk, SB, U.; Chetnicki, W., Folia Biologica-Krakow, 53:133-141. 2005.
Patterns of sex chromosome segregation in six homozygous males of the common Shrew (Sorex araneus LINNAEUS, 1758) belonging to two chromosomal races, as well as in 16 interracial hybrids were studied. I ascd on their karyotypes the hybrids can be subdivided into two groups: (a) ...
Intraparental gamete competition provides a selective advantage for the development of hybrid sterility via meiotic drive
Adams, CS, Evolution, 59:1229-1236. 2005.Hybrid sterility can have evolutionary significance and varies substantially by taxon, but few models attempt to predict or explain this variability. Hybrid sterility is commonly observed and develops early in isolation, at odds with straightforward models that predict it would ...
TSETSE GENETICS: Contributions to Biology, Systematics, and Control of Tsetse Flies
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetic incompatibilities, Other arthropods, WolbachiaR. H. Gooding and E. S. Krafsur, Annual Review of Entomology, 50:101-123. 2005.
Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) constitute a small, ancient taxon of exclusively hematophagous insects that reproduce slowly and viviparously. Because tsetse flies are the only vectors of pathogenic African trypanosomes, they are a potent and constant threat to humans and ...
Evidence for extensive transmission distortion in the human genome
Zollner, SW, X. Q.; Hanchard, N. A.; Herbert, M. A.; Ober, C.; Pritchard, J. K., American Journal of Human Genetics, 74:62-72. 2004.It is a basic principle of genetics that each chromosome is transmitted from parent to offspring with a probability that is given by Mendel's laws. However, several known biological processes lead to skewed transmission probabilities among surviving offspring and, therefore, to ...
Evolution of autosomal suppression of the sex-ratio trait in Drosophila
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortion, X chromosomeVaz, SCC, A. B., Genetics, 166:265-277. 2004.
The sex-ratio trait is the production of female-biased progenies due to X-linked meiotic drive in males of several Drosophila species. The driving X chromosome (called SR) is not fixed due to at least two stabilizing factors: natural selection (favoring ST, the nondriving ...
B chromosomes and genome size in flowering plants
Tags: Agriculture, Chromosomal drive, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Selfish genetic elements, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionTrivers, RB, A.; Palestis, B. G., Genome, 47:1-8. 2004.
B chromosomes are extra chromosomes found in some, but not all, individuals within a species, often maintained by giving themselves an advantage in transmission, i.e. they drive. Here we show that the presence of B chromosomes correlates to and varies strongly and positively with ...
Wolbachia and cytoplasmic incompatibility in mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Culex, Fruit fly, North AmericaSinkins, SP, Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 34:723-729. 2004.
Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that induce cytoplasmic incompatibility in mosquitoes, and are able to use these patterns of sterility to spread themselves through populations. For this reason they have been proposed as a gene drive system for mosquito genetic ...
Evolution of divergent DNA recognition specificities in VDE homing endonucleases from two yeast species
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Yeast and FungiPosey, KLK, V.; Burt, A.; Gimble, F. S., Nucleic Acids Research, 32:3947-3956. 2004.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are mobile DNA elements that are thought to confer no benefit to their host. They encode site-specific DNA endonucleases that perpetuate the element within a species population by homing and disseminate it between species by horizontal transfer. ...
Rapid suppression of drive for a parasitic B chromosome
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionPerfectti, FC, J. M.; Mesa, J. A.; Cabrero, J.; Bakkali, M.; Lopez-Leon, M. D.; Camacho, J. P. M., Cytogenetic and Genome Research, 106:338-343. 2004.
The persistence of parasitic B chromosomes in natural populations depends on both B ability to drive and host response to counteracting it. In the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, the B-24 chromosome is the most widespread B chromosome variant in the Torrox area ( Malaga, ...
The distribution of B chromosomes across species
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive, Genetic engineeringPalestis, BGT, R.; Burt, A.; Jones, R. N., Cytogenetic and Genome Research, 106:151-158. 2004.
In this review we look at the broad picture of how B chromosomes are distributed across a wide range of species. We review recent studies of the factors associated with the presence of Bs across species, and provide new analyses with updated data and additional variables. The ...
B chromosomes are more frequent in mammals with acrocentric karyotypes: support for the theory of centromeric drive
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionPalestis, BGB, A.; Jones, R. N.; Trivers, R., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 271:S22-S24. 2004.
The chromosomes of mammals tend to be either mostly acrocentric (having one long arm) or mostly bi-armed, with few species having intermediate karyotypes. The theory of centromeric drive suggests that this observation reflects a bias during female meiosis, favouring either more ...
Reinvestigation of an endogenous meiotic drive system in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (Diptera : Culicidae)
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Other arthropods, Transmission distortion, Y-chromosomeMori, AC, D. D.; Graham, D. H.; Severson, D. W., Journal of Medical Entomology, 41:1027-1033. 2004.
We have initiated efforts to determine the molecular basis for the M-D meiotic drive system in the mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The effect of the M-D gene is a highly male-biased sex ratio, but varies depending on the frequency and sensitivity of a susceptible responder m(s) allele. ...
Mapping of paternal-sex-ratio deletion chromosomes localizes multiple regions involved in expression and transmission
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Other arthropodsMcAllister, BFB, L. W.; Werren, J. H., Heredity, 92:5-13. 2004.
The paternal-sex-ratio (PSR) chromosome in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis is a submetacentric supernumerary (B chromosome). Males transmit PSR, but after fertilization it causes the loss of the paternal autosomes. Paternal genome loss caused by PSR results in the ...
B chromosomes in Sternorrhyncha (Hemiptera, Insecta)
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Evolution, Other arthropodsMaryanska-Nadachowska, A, Cytogenetic and Genome Research, 106:210-214. 2004.
In the hemipteroid insects of the suborder Sternorrhyncha, B chromosomes are relatively common in comparison with other suborders of Hemiptera. However, the occurrence of supernumerary chromosomes is restricted, in most cases, to several genera or closely related species. At ...
Exploring the public understanding of basic genetic concepts
Lanie, ADJ, Toby Epstein; Sheldon, Jane P.; Kardia, Sharon L. R.; Anderson, Elizabeth S.; Feldbaum, Merle; Petty, Elizabeth M., Journal of Genetic Counseling, 13:305-320. 2004.It is predicted that the rapid acquisition of new genetic knowledge and related applications during the next decade will have significant implications for virtually all members of society. Currently, most people get exposed to information about genes and genetics only through ...
Meiotic drive and sex chromosome cycling
Tags: Evolution, Transmission distortion, X chromosomeHall, DW, Evolution, 58:925-931. 2004.
Sex-linked meiotic drive is found in a broad variety of taxa, including insects, birds, and mammals. In populations of some species, we see four types of sex chromosomes segregating: normal and driving X chromosomes and susceptible and resistant Y chromosomes. A theoretical ...
Identification of quantitative trait loci affecting sex determination in the eastern treehole mosquito (Ochlerotatus triseriatus)
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionGraham, DHH, J. L.; Black, W. C., Journal of Heredity, 95:35-45. 2004.
Laboratory colonies of the eastern treehole mosquito (Ochlerotatus triseriatus (Say)) exhibit a consistent female-biased sex ratio. This is unusual among mosquito species, in which heritable sex ratio distortion is usually male biased and mediated by meiotic drive. Quantitative ...
Sperm survival in female stalk-eyed flies depends on seminal fluid and meiotic drive
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionFry, CLW, G. S., Evolution, 58:1622-1626. 2004.
Sperm competition is common in many insect species; however, the mechanisms underlying differences in sperm precedence are not well understood. In the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei (Diptera, Diopsidae), sperm precedence is influenced by the presence of sex chromosome ...
To what extent do different types of sex ratio distorters interfere?
Tags: Transmission distortion, Wolbachia, X chromosomeEngelstadter, JM, H.; Hurst, G. D. D., Evolution, 58:2382-2386. 2004.
Within the Diptera, two different selfish genetic elements are known to cause the production of female-biased sex ratios: maternally inherited bacteria that kill male zygotes (male-killers), and X chromosomes causing the degeneration of Y-bearing sperm in males (meiotic drive). ...
Persistence of an extreme sex-ratio bias in a natural population
Tags: Other arthropods, WolbachiaDyson, EAH, G. D. D., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101:6520-6523. 2004.
The sex ratio is a key parameter in the evolution and ecology of a species. Selfish genetic elements that bias the sex ratio of affected individuals are well known and characterized, but their effect on populations has been considered limited, because either the element does not ...
Homing endonuclease genes: the rise and fall and rise again of a selfish element
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Genetic engineering, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Yeast and FungiBurt, AK, V., Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 14:609-615. 2004.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) are selfish genetic elements that spread by first cleaving chromosomes that do not contain them and then getting copied across to the broken chromosome as a byproduct of the repair process. The success of this strategy will depend on the ...
Inverted meiosis and meiotic drive in mealybugs
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsBongiorni, SF, P.; Pippoletti, D.; Prantera, G., Chromosoma, 112:331-341. 2004.
In the males of lecanoid coccids, or mealybugs, an entire, paternally derived, haploid chromosome set becomes heterochromatic after the seventh embryonic mitotic cycle. In females, both haploid sets are euchromatic throughout the life cycle. In mealybugs, as in all homopteran ...
The B chromosome polymorphism of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans in North Africa. IV. Transmission of rare B chromosome variants
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsBakkali, MC, J. P. M., Cytogenetic and Genome Research, 106:332-337. 2004.
In addition to the principal B chromosome (B-1) in Moroccan populations of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans, nine B chromosome variants appeared at low frequency. The transmission of five of these rare B chromosome variants through females was analysed in three natural ...
Analysis of two additional loci in Neurospora crassa related to Spore killer-2
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortion, Yeast and FungiTurner, BC, Fungal Genetics and Biology, 39:142-150. 2003.
Two new loci found in one strain of Neurospora crassa (P2604) collected in Malaya are related to the meiotic drive system Spore killer Sk-2. Sk-2 was found in Neurospora intermedia and introgressed into N. crassa. P2604 showed high resistance to killing when crossed to Sk-2. This ...
Common features of segregation distortion in plants and animals
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionTaylor, DRI, P. K., Genetica, 117:27-35. 2003.
Segregation distortion is increasingly recognized as a potentially powerful evolutionary force. This runs counter to the perception that non-Mendelian genes are rare genetic curiosities, a view that seems to be supported by the near ubiquity of the Mendelian system of ...
Genetic dissection of hybrid incompatibilities between Drosophila simulans and D-mauritiana. III. Heterogeneous accumulation of hybrid incompatibilities, degree of dominance, and implications for Haldane’s rule
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsTao, YH, D. L., Evolution, 57:2580-2598. 2003.
The genetic basis of Haldane's rule was investigated through estimating the accumulation of hybrid incompatibilities between Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana by means of introgression. The accumulation of hybrid male sterility (HMS) is at least 10 times greater than that of ...
Meiotic drive – Bickering genes shape evolution – Not all genes follow the rules of inheritance; now researchers are discovering how organisms adapt to the troublemakers
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionPennisi, E, Science, 301:1837-1839. 2003.
Reproduction is supposed to be an equal opportunity event. Consider humans: In developing sperm, the sex chromosomes sort 50:50 such that half the sperm carry the male-defining Y chromosome and the rest sport an X. Only the randomness of fertilization leads to families of nine ...
The aging effect in the segregation distorter system of Drosophila melanogaster
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionOh, SCN, J. G., Korean Journal of Genetics, 25:237-242. 2003.
The SD/SD+ heterozygous male of Drosophila melanogaster transmits the SD second chromosome to its progeny in excess of the Mendelian frequency of 0.5. The k value is defined as the frequency of the SD chromosome recovered among progeny from such a male. This value has been shown ...
Transmission ratio distortion in mice
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammalsLyon, MF, Annual Review of Genetics, 37:393-408. 2003.
The most studied example of transmission ratio distortion (TRD) in mice is that of the t-complex. This is a variant-region of Chromosome 17 which exists as a polymorphism in wild mice. Males heterozygous for a t-haplotype and a normal Chr 17 transmit-the t haplotype to >50% of ...
Closing the (Ran)GAP on segregation distortion in Drosophila
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionKusano, AS, C.; Chan, H. Y. E.; Ganetzky, B., Bioessays, 25:108-115. 2003.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a meiotic drive system in Drosophila that causes preferential transmission of the SD chromosome from SD/SD+ males owing to induced dysfunction of SD+ spermatids. Since its discovery in 1956, SD and its mode of action have baffled biologists. ...
B chromosomes in plants: escapees from the A chromosome genome?
Tags: Chromosomal drive, EvolutionJones, NH, A., Trends in Plant Science, 8:417-423. 2003.
B chromosomes are dispensable elements that do not recombine with the A chromosomes of the regular complement and that follow their own evolutionary track. In some cases, they are known to be nuclear parasites with autonomous modes of inheritance, exploiting 'drive' to ensure ...
Responder (Rsp) alleles in the Segregation Distorter (SD) system of meiotic drive in Drosophila may represent a complex family of satellite repeat sequences
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionHoutchens, KL, T. W., Genetica, 117:291-302. 2003.
In D. melanogaster males carrying Segregation Distorter (SD) second chromosomes, sperm receiving sensitive alleles of the Responder (Rsp) locus are subject to high rates of dysfunction. The Rsp region is located in 2R immediately adjacent to the centromere in heterochromatic band ...
General principles for risk assessment of living modified organisms: Lessons from chemical risk assessment
Tags: Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyHill, RAS, C., Environ. Biosafety Res, 2:81-88. 2003.
Modern biotechnology has led to the development and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) for agriculture and other purposes. Regulators at the national level are increasingly depending on risk assessment as a tool for assessing potential adverse effects of LMOs on the ...
Four loci on abnormal chromosome 10 contribute to meiotic drive in maize
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionHiatt, END, R. K., Genetics, 164:699-709. 2003.
We provide a genetic analysis of the meiotic drive system on maize abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) that causes preferential segregation of specific chromosomal regions to the reproductive megaspore. The data indicate that at least four chromosomal regions contribute to meiotic ...
The meiotic drive system on maize abnormal chromosome 10 contains few essential genes
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionHiatt, END, R. K., Genetica, 117:67-76. 2003.
In maize, a distal portion of abnormal chromosome 10 (Ab10) causes the meiotic drive of itself as well as many unlinked heterochromatic regions known as knobs. The Ab10 drive system, which encodes trans- as well as cis-acting components, occupies a large region of chromosome 10L ...
Sexual transmission of the Het-s prion leads to meiotic drive in Poldospora anserina
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionDalstra, HJPS, K.; Debets, A. J. M.; Saupe, S. J.; Hoekstra, R. F., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100:6616-6621. 2003.
In the filamentous fungus Podospora anserina, two phenomena are associated with polymorphism at the het-s locus, vegetative incompatibility and ascospore abortion. Two het-s alleles occur naturally, het-s and het-S. The het-s encoded protein is a prion propagating as a ...
Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of natural populations
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Vector controlBurt, A, Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 270:921-928. 2003.
Site-specific selfish genes exploit host functions to copy themselves into a defined target DNA sequence, and include homing endonuclease genes, group II introns and some LINE-like transposable elements. If such genes can be engineered to target new host sequences, then they can ...
Marcus Rhoades, preferential segregation and meiotic drive
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, HistoryBirchler, JAD, R. K.; Doebley, J. F., Genetics, 164:835-841. 2003.
LONG before microarray biologists coined and promoted the term “discovery science,” maize geneticists were avid practitioners of this mode of investigation. In fact, one might say that for a number of years, the field of maize genetics basically operated as discovery science. ...
Overlapping deletions spanning the proximal two-thirds of the mouse t complex
Bergstrom, DEB, R. A.; Munroe, R. J.; Lee, B. K.; Browning, V. L.; You, Y.; Eicher, E. M.; Schimenti, J. C., Mammalian Genome, 14:817-829. 2003.Chromosome deletion complexes in model organisms serve as valuable genetic tools for the functional and physical annotation of complex genomes. Among their many roles, deletions can serve as mapping tools for simple or quantitative trait loci (QTLs), genetic reagents for regional ...
Adaptation for horizontal transfer in a homing endonuclease
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Genetic engineering, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Yeast and FungiKoufopanou, VG, M. R.; Burt, A., Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19:239-246. 2002.
Selfish genes of no function other than self-propagation are susceptible to degeneration if they become fixed in a population. and regular transfer to new species may be the only means for their long-term persistence. To test this idea we surveyed 24 species of yeast for VDE, a ...
Reciprocal crossover asymmetry and meiotic drive in a human recombination hot spot
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammals, Transmission distortionJeffreys, AJN, R., Nature Genetics, 31:267-271. 2002.
Human DNA diversity arises ultimately from germline mutation that creates new haplotypes that can be reshuffled by meiotic recombination. Reciprocal crossover generates recombinant haplotypes but should not influence the frequencies of alleles in a population. We demonstrate ...
X chromosome effect on maternal recombination and meiotic drive in the mouse
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammals, Transmission distortionde la Casa-Esperon, EL-O, J. C.; de Villena, F. P. M.; Briscoe, T. L.; Malette, J. M.; Vaughan, J. E.; Morgan, K.; Sapienza, C., Genetics, 161:1651-1659. 2002.
We observed that maternal meiotic drive favoring the inheritance of DDK alleles at the Om locus on mouse chromosome 11 was correlated with the X chromosome inactivation phenotype of (C57BL/6Pgk1(a) X DDK)F-1 mothers. The basis for this unexpected observation appears to lie in the ...
Does Stellate cause meiotic drive in Drosophila melanogaster?
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsBelloni, MT, P.; Bozzetti, M. P.; Palumbo, G.; Robbins, L. G., Genetics, 161:1551-1559. 2002.
Drosophila melanogaster males deficient for the crystal (cry) locus of the Y chromosome that carry between 15 and 60 copies of the X-linked Stellate (Ste) gene are semisterile, have elevated levels of nondisjunction, produce distorted sperm genotype ratios (meiotic drive), and ...
