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.
Sperm competition and the dynamics of X chromosome drive: Stability and extinction
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortion, X chromosomeTaylor, JEJ, J., Genetics, 160:1721-1731. 2002.
Several empirical studies of sperm competition in populations polymorphic for a driving X chromosome have revealed that Sex-ratio males (those carrying a driving X) are at a disadvantage relative to Standard males. Because the frequency of the driving X chromosome determines the ...
Sex-ratio drive in Drosophila simulans: Variation in segregation ratio of X chromosomes from a natural population
Tags: Other arthropods, X chromosomeMontchamp-Moreau, CC, M., Genetics, 162:1221-1231. 2002.
The sex-ratio trait that exists in a dozen Drosophila species is a case of naturally occurring X chromosome drive that causes males to produce female-biased progeny. Autosomal and Y polymorphism for suppressors are known to cause variation in drive expression, but the X ...
Segregation distortion induced by wild-type RanGAP in Drosophila
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionKusano, AS, C.; Ganetzky, B., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 99:6866-6870. 2002.
Segregation Distorter (SD) is a meiotic drive system in Drosophila that causes preferential transmission of the SD chromosome from SD/SD+ males owing to the induced dysfunction of SD+ spermatids. The key distorter locus, Sid, is a dominant neomorphic allele encoding a truncated, ...
Sperm development, age and sex chromosome meiotic drive in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei
Tags: Other arthropods, Transmission distortion, X chromosomeWilkinson, GSS, M. I., Heredity, 87:17-24. 2001.
The cytological basis of X chromosome meiotic drive or sex ratio (SR) has been reported for several species of Drosophila but not for other species. Here we describe how sperm development in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis whitei, influences progeny sex proportion, in order to ...
Meiotic drive alters sperm competitive ability in stalk-eyed flies
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionWilkinson, GSF, C. L., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 268:2559-2564. 2001.
Meiotic drive results when sperm carrying a driving chromosome preferentially survive development. Meiotic drive should therefore influence sperm competition because drive males produce fewer sperm than non-drive males. Whether meiotic drive also influences the competitive ...
Selection and segregation distortion in a sex-differentiated population
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Transmission distortionWeissing, FJvB, M., Theoretical Population Biology, 60:327-341. 2001.
We extend the classical model for selection at an autosomal locus in a sex-differentiated population to include segregation distortion. The equations remain the same, but the fitness parameters are interpreted differently and refer to alleles instead of genotypes. We derive ...
Competition at the Mouse t Complex: Rare Alleles Are Inherently Favored
Tags: Transmission distortionvan Boven, MW, Franz J., Theoretical Population Biology, 60:343-358. 2001.
We investigate the competition between alleles at a segregation distorter locus. The focus is on the invasion prospects of rare mutant distorter alleles in a population in which a wildtype and a resident distorter allele are present. The parameters are chosen to reflect the ...
Sex-ratio segregation distortion associated with reproductive isolation in Drosophila
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionTao, YH, D. L.; Laurie, C. C., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98:13183-13188. 2001.
Sex-ratio distortion is the most common form of non-Mendelian segregation observed in natural populations. It may occur even more frequently than direct observations suggest, because the dysgenic population consequences of a biased sex ratio are expected to result in the rapid ...
Sex chromosome meiotic drive
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, X chromosome, Y-chromosomeJaenike, J, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 32:25-49. 2001.
Sex chromosome drive refers to the unequal transmission of X and Y chromosomes from individuals of the heterogametic sex, resulting in biased sex ratios among progeny and within populations, The presence of driving sex chromosomes can reduce mean fitness within a population, ...
The role of selfish genetic elements in eukaryotic evolution
Tags: EvolutionHurst, GDDW, J. H., Nature Reviews Genetics, 2:597-606. 2001.
'Selfish genetic elements', such as transposons, homing endonucleases, meiotic drive chromosomes and heritable microorganisms, are common features of eukaryotes. However, their importance in the evolution of eukaryotic genomes is still controversial. In this review, we discuss ...
An unusual sex-determination system in South American field mice (genus Akodon): The role of mutation, selection, and meiotic drive in maintaining XY females
Tags: Other mammals, Transmission distortion, Y-chromosomeHoekstra, HEH, J. M., Evolution, 55:190-197. 2001.
The mechanism of sex determination in mammals appears highly conserved: the presence of a Y chromosome triggers the male developmental pathway, whereas the absence of a Y chromosome results in a default female phenotype. However, if the Y chromosome fails to initiate the male ...
Outcrossed sex allows a selfish gene to invade yeast populations
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Genetic engineering, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Yeast and FungiGoddard, MRG, D.; Burt, A., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 268:2537-2542. 2001.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) in eukaryotes are optional genes that have no obvious effect on host phenotype except for causing chromosomes not containing a cop), of the gene to be cut, thus causing them to be inherited at a greater than Mendelian rate via gene conversion. ...
Nonrandom segregation during meiosis: the unfairness of females
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionde Villena, FPMS, C., Mammalian Genome, 12:331-339. 2001.
Most geneticists assume that chromosome segregation during meiosis is Mendelian (i.e., each allele at each locus is represented equally in the gametes). The great majority of reports that discuss non-Mendelian transmission have focused on systems of gametic selection, such as the ...
Transmission ratio distortion due to the bl gene in table beet
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive mechanismsAustin, DG, I. L., Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 126:340-343. 2001.
The bl gene conditions a blotchy phenotype (irregular sectors of red and white root color) in table beet (Beta vulgaris ssp, vulgaris). Segregation of the bl gene was found to be consistent with a single recessive gene, however, some evidence for a departure from a single gene ...
Success in Zanzibar: Eradication of tsetse
Tags: Other arthropods, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. R. Msangi, N. Kiwia, I. I. Malele, F. Mramba, K. M. Saleh, W. A. Mussa, K. G. Juma, V. A. Dyck, M. J. B. Vreysen, A. G. Parker, U. Feldmann, Z. R. Zhu and H. Pan, Area-Wide Control of Fruit Flies and Other Insect Pests, 2000.
There are about 22 species of tsetse flies found nowhere else in the world except in 36 countries of sub-Saharan Africa Tsetse flies transmit a debilitating and often fatal disease, trypanosomosis, which causes tremendous losses of livestock, and severely limits agricultural ...
Glossina austeni (Diptera: Glossinidae) Eradicated on the Island of Unguja, Zanzibar, Using the Sterile Insect Technique
Tags: Other arthropodsM. J. B. Vreysen, K. M. Saleh, M. Y. Ali, A. M. Abdulla, Z.-R. Zhu, K. G. Juma, V. A. Dyck, A. R. Msangi, P. A. Mkonyi and H. U. Feldmann, Journal of Economic Entomology, 123-135. 2000.
An area-wide integrated tsetse eradication project was initiated in Zanzibar in 1994 by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the governments of Tanzania and Zanzibar, to eradicate Glossina austeni Newstead from Unguja Island (Zanzibar) using the sterile insect technique. ...
Co-existence of hosts and sex ratio distorters in structured populations
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanismsHatcher, MJD, A. M.; Tofts, C., Evolutionary Ecology Research, 2:185-205. 2000.
Vertically transmitted parasites occur in several invertebrate species, and alter host reproduction by a variety of mechanisms, including sex ratio distortion via feminization. Efficient feminizers are predicted to drive homogenous host populations extinct due to the absence of ...
Persistence of selfish genetic elements: population structure and conflict
Tags: EvolutionHatcher, MJ, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 15:271-277. 2000.
Selfish genetic elements are vertically transmitted factors that spread by obtaining a transmission advantage relative to the rest of the genome of their host organism, often with a cost to overall host fitness. In many cases, conventional population genetics theory predicts them ...
Non-Mendelian segregation of sex chromosomes in heterospecific Drosophila males
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsDermitzakis, ETM, J. P.; Waldrip, H. M.; Clark, A. G., Genetics, 154:687-694. 2000.
Interspecific hybrids and backcrossed organisms generally suffer from reduced viability and/or fertility. To identify and genetically map these defects, we introgressed regions of the Drosophila sechellia genome into the D. simulans genome. A female-biased sex ratio was observed ...
A genetic test to determine the origin of maternal transmission ratio distortion: Meiotic drive at the mouse Om locus
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammalsde Villena, FPMdlC-E, E.; Briscoe, T. L.; Sapienza, C., Genetics, 154:333-342. 2000.
We have shown previously that the progeny of crosses between heterozygous females and C57BL/G males show transmission ratio distortion at the Om locus on mouse chromosome 11. This result has been replicated in several independent experiments. Here we show that the distortion maps ...
Heritability of the maternal meiotic drive system linked to Om and high-resolution mapping of the Responder locus in mouse
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammals, Transmission distortionde Villena, FPMdlC-E, E.; Williams, J. W.; Malette, J. M.; Rosa, M.; Sapienza, C., Genetics, 155:283-289. 2000.
Matings between (C57BL/6 X DDK)F-1 females and C57BL/6 males result in a significant excess of offspring inheriting maternal DDK alleles in the central region of mouse chromosome 11 due to meiotic drive at the second meiotic division. We have shown previously that the locus ...
Sex-ratio meiotic drive in Drosophila simulans is related to equational nondisjunction of the Y chromosome
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, X chromosomeCazemajor, MJ, D.; Montchamp-Moreau, C., Genetics, 154:229-236. 2000.
The sex-ratio trait, an example of naturally occurring X-linked meiotic drive, has been reported in a dozen Drosophila species. Males carrying a sex-ratio X chromosome produce an excess of female offspring caused by a deficiency of Y-bearing sperm. In Drosophila simulans, such ...
Spore-killing meiotic drive factors in a natural population of the fungus Podospora anserina
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Toxin-antidote, Transmission distortionvan der Gaag, MD, A. J. M.; Oosterhof, J.; Slakhorst, M.; Thijssen, Jagm; Hoekstra, R. F., Genetics, 156:593-605. 2000.
In fungi, meiotic drive is observed as spore killing. In the secondarily homothallic ascomycete Podospora anserina it is characterized by the abortion of two of the four spores in the ascus. We have identified seven different types of meiotic drive elements (Spore killers). Among ...
Chromosomally-induced meiotic drive in Drosophila males: Checkpoint or fallout?
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionTomkiel, JE, Genetica, 109:95-103. 2000.
In male Drosophila melanogaster, anomalies in sex chromosome pairing at meiosis often lead to complete or partial sperm dysfunction. This observation has led to the suggestion that defects in either the efficiency or configuration of chromosome pairing at metaphase trigger a ...
Segregation distortion of mouse t-haplotypes: The molecular basis emerges
Tags: Fruit fly, Transmission distortionSchimenti, J, Trends in Genetics, 16:240-243. 2000.
The t haplotype is an ancestral version of proximal mouse chromosome 17 that has evolved mechanisms to persist as an intact genomic variant in mouse populations. t haplotypes contain mutations that affect embryonic development, male fertility and male transmission ratio ...
Physical mapping of male fertility and meiotic drive quantitative trait loci in the mouse t complex using chromosome deficiencies
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, Rodents, Transmission distortionPlanchart, AY, Y.; Schimenti, J. C., Genetics, 155:803-812. 2000.
The t complex spans 20 cM of the proximal region of mouse chromosome 17. A variant form, the t haplotype (t), exists at significant frequencies in wild mouse populations and is characterized by the presence of inversions that suppress recombination with Mild-type (+) chromosomes. ...
Nonrandom segregation of the mouse univalent X chromosome: Evidence of spindle-mediated meiotic drive
Tags: Other mammals, X chromosomeLeMaire-Adkins, RH, P. A., Genetics, 156:775-783. 2000.
A fundamental principle of Mendelian inheritance is random segregation of alleles to progeny; however, examples of distorted transmission either of specific alleles or of whole chromosomes have been described in a variety of species. In humans and mice, a distortion in chromosome ...
A male-biased primary sex ratio and larval mortality in Eucheira socialis (Lepidoptera : Pieridae)
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropodsUnderwood, DLAS, A. M., Evolutionary Ecology Research, 1:703-717. 1999.
We investigated the sex ratio and sex-biased mortality in the Mexican pierid butterfly, Eucheira socialis westwoodi. We studied two populations between 1990 and 1997 along Mexico Highway 40, which runs from Mazatlan, Sinaloa to Durango, Durango, Populations occurring between km ...
Genetic and molecular characterization of sting, a gene involved in crystal formation and meiotic drive in the male germ line of Drosophila melanogaster
Tags: Other arthropods, Transmission distortionSchmidt, AP, G.; Bozzetti, M. P.; Tritto, P.; Pimpinelli, S.; Schafer, U., Genetics, 151:749-760. 1999.
The sting mutation, caused by a P element inserted into polytene region 32D, was isolated by a screen for male sterile insertions in Drosophila melanogaster. This sterility is correlated with the presence of crystals in spermatocytes and spermatids that are structurally ...
Meiotic drive and evolution of female choice
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionReinhold, KE, L.; Misof, B.; Kurtz, J., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 266:1341-1345. 1999.
As a special version of the good-genes hypothesis, it was recently proposed that females could benefit from choosing drive-resistant males in a meiotic drive system. Here, we examine with a three-locus, six-allele population genetic model whether female choice for drive ...
Transmission ratio distortion in females on chromosome 10p11-p15
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammals, Transmission distortionPaterson, ADP, A., American Journal of Medical Genetics, 88:657-661. 1999.
A number of recent reports of linkage of markers on chromosome 10p to schizophrenia, and evidence for linkage in one study to bipolar affective disorder, provide encouragement for psychiatric genetics, after nonreplication of linkage findings at other chromosomal regions, The ...
Truncated RanGAP encoded by the Segregation Distorter locus of Drosophila
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortionMerrill, CB, L.; Kusano, A.; Ganetzky, B., Science, 283:1742-1745. 1999.
Segregation Distorter (SD) in Drosophila melanogaster is a naturally occurring meiotic drive system in which the SD chromosome is transmitted from SD/SD+ males in vast: excess over its homolog owing to the induced dysfunction of SD+-bearing spermatids. The Sd Locus is the key ...
Models of sex-ratio meiotic drive and sexual selection in stalk-eyed flies
Tags: Evolution, Other arthropods, X chromosomeLande, RW, G. S., Genetics Research, 74:245-253. 1999.
Hypertrophied sexually dimorphic eye stalks have evolved independently in several families of Diptera, with the eyespan of males exceeding their total body length in some species. These structures function in intermale contests for territories and in mate attraction, the ...
How common are meiotically driving sex chromosomes in insects?
Tags: Evolution, Other arthropods, Transmission distortion, X chromosome, Y-chromosomeJiggins, FMH, G. D. D.; Majerus, M. E. N., American Naturalist, 154:481-483. 1999.
In summary, we argue that the hypothesis that sex chromosome; meiotic drive is common within the insects is in; fact not proved. We feel that, although it is unlikely that; it will be found exclusively in the Diptera, there is a case; to be made that the Diptera are a hot spot ...
Suppression of sex-ratio meiotic drive and the maintenance of Y-chromosome polymorphism in Drosophila
Tags: Evolution, Other arthropods, X chromosomeJaenike, J, Evolution, 53:164-174. 1999.
Like several other species of Drosophila, D. quinaria is polymorphic for X-chromosome meiotic drive; matings involving males that carry a "sex-ratio" X chromosome (X(SR)) result in the production of strongly female-biased offspring sex ratios (Jaenike 1996). A survey of isofemale ...
Invasion of one insect species, Adalia bipunctata, by two different male-killing bacteria
Tags: Evolution, Gene driveHurst, GDDvdS, J. H. G.; Majerus, T. M. O.; Bertrand, D.; Zakharov, I. A.; Baungaard, J.; Volkl, W.; Stouthamer, R.; Majerus, M. E. N., Insect Molecular Biology, 8:133-139. 1999.
Male-killing bacteria, which are inherited through the female line and kill male progeny only, are known from five different orders of insect. Our knowledge of the incidence of these elements has stemmed from discovery of their phenotype in different species, Our estimate of the ...
Population dynamics under parasitic sex ratio distortion
Tags: EvolutionHatcher, MJT, D. E.; Dunn, A. M.; Tofts, C., Theoretical Population Biology, 56:11-28. 1999.
We analyse the population dynamic effects of sex ratio distortion by vertically transmitted, feminizing parasites, We show that, for diploid hosts, sex ratio distortion may lead to extinction as males become too rare to maintain the host population through reproduction. ...
Recurrent invasion and extinction of a selfish gene
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, History, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Yeast and FungiGoddard, MRB, A., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 96:13880-13885. 1999.
Homing endonuclease genes show super-Mendelian inheritance, which allows them to spread in populations even when they are of no benefit to the host organism. To test the idea that regular horizontal transmission is necessary for the long-term persistence of these genes, we ...
Transmission ratio distortion at the INS-IGF2 VNTR
Tags: Gene drive, Other mammalsEaves, IAB, S. T.; Forster, P.; Ferber, K. M.; Ehrmann, D.; Wilson, A. J.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Ziegler, A. G.; Brinkmann, B.; Todd, J. A., Nature Genetics, 22:324-325. 1999.
Transmission ratio distortion (TRD) is defined as a statistically significant departure from mendelian transmission. So far, evidence of this in humans has been limited or controversial1,2,3,4, and the few established examples involve chromosome rearrangements in lower ...
Are Drosophila SR drive chromosomes always balanced?
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, X chromosomeCarvalho, ABV, S. C., Heredity, 83:221-228. 1999.
SR chromosomes are the best-known case of sex chromosome meiotic drive. These X chromosomes cause the production of female-biased progenies in several Drosophila species; Due to their meiotic drive advantage, they are expected to spread and become fixed, resulting in population ...
Evolution of driving X chromosomes and resistance factors in experimental populations of Drosophila simulans
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, X chromosomeCapillon, CA, A., Evolution, 53:506-517. 1999.
Sex-ratio drive is a particular case of meiotic drive, described in several Drosophila species, that causes males bearing driving X chromosome to produce a large excess of females in their progeny. In Drosophila simulans, driving X chromosomes and resistance factors located on ...
Meiotic drive of chromosomal knobs reshaped the maize genome
Tags: Gene driveBuckler, ESP-D, T. L.; Buckler, C. S. K.; Dawe, R. K.; Doebley, J. F.; Holtsford, T. P., Genetics, 153:415-426. 1999.
Meiotic drive is the subversion of meiosis so that particular genes are preferentially transmitted to the progeny. Meiotic drive generally causes the preferential segregation of small regions of the genome; however, in maize we propose that meiotic drive is responsible for the ...
Segregation distortion in a deme structured population: opposing demands of gene, individual and group selection
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, Transmission distortionvan Boven, MW, F. J., Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 12:80-93. 1999.
The evolution of segregation distortion is governed by the interplay of selection at different levels. Despite their systematic advantage at the gamete level, none of the well-known segregation distorters spreads to fixation since they induce severe negative fitness effects at ...
Mariner transposition and transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti
Tags: Aedes, Fruit fly, Gene editing, Selfish genetic elementsC. J. Coates, N. Jasinskiene, L. Miyashiro and A. A. James, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 95:3748-3751. 1998.
The mariner transposable element is capable of interplasmid transposition in the embryonic soma of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. To determine if this demonstrated mobility could be utilized to genetically transform the mosquito, a modified mariner element marked with ...
Stable transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, with the Hermes element from the housefly
Tags: Anopheles, Fruit fly, Gene editing, Selfish genetic elements, Vector controlN. Jasinskiene, C. J. Coates, M. Q. Benedict, A. J. Cornel, C. S. Rafferty, A. A. James and F. H. Collins, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 95:3743-3747. 1998.
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the world's most important vector of yellow fever and dengue viruses, Work is currently in progress to control the transmission of these viruses by genetically altering the capacity of wild Ae, aegypti populations to support virus replication. The ...
Meiotic drive favors Robertsonian metacentric chromosomes in the common shrew (Sorex araneus, Insectivora, Mammalia)
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other mammals, Transmission distortionWyttenbach, AB, P.; Hausser, J., Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics, 83:199-206. 1998.
Meiotic drive has attracted much interest because it concerns the robustness of Mendelian segregation and its genetic and evolutionary stability. We studied chromosomal meiotic drive in the common shrew (Sorex araneus, Insectivora, Mammalia), which exhibits one of the most ...
Male eye span in stalk-eyed flies indicates genetic quality by meiotic drive suppression
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Other arthropods, Transmission distortion, X chromosomeWilkinson, GSP, D. C.; Crymes, L., Nature, 391:276-279. 1998.
In some species, females choose mates possessing ornaments that predict offspring survival(1-5). However, sexual selection by female preference for male genetic quality(6-8) remains controversial because conventional genetic mechanisms maintain insufficient variation in male ...
Sex determination, sex ratios, and genetic conflict
Tags: EvolutionWerren, JHB, L. W., Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 29:233-261. 1998.
Genetic mechanisms of sex determination are unexpectedly diverse and change rapidly during evolution. We review the role of genetic conflict as the driving force behind this diversity and turnover. Genetic conflict occurs when different components of a genetic system are subject ...
Evolution of segregation distortion: Potential for a high degree of polymorphism
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Transmission distortionvan Boven, MW, F. J., Journal of Theoretical Biology, 192:131-142. 1998.
By means of a population genetical model, we study the evolution of segregation distortion. Most models of segregation distortion focus on a single distorter allele. In contrast, we consider the competition between a large number of distorters. Motivated by systems as the t ...
The dynamics of maternal-effect selfish genetic elements
Tags: EvolutionSmith, NGC, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 191:173-180. 1998.
Maternal-effect selfish genes such as Medea or Seat act to kill progeny that do not bear a copy of the selfish gene present in the mother. Previous models of this system allowed for two types of allele, the selfish (killer) type and the sensitive (susceptible) wild-type. These ...
