Supporters: Standardized Definition of Gene Drive
Definitions of “gene drive” from Alphey et al (2020):
“Because the field continues to evolve, we consider this a living document that will be hosted by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) GeneConvene Global Collaborative Virtual Institute (https://www.geneconvenevi.org/) and will be updated periodically as needed.
Gene drive: “Gene drive” is used both to describe a process or phenomenon (the biological activity of gene drive) and to describe an object (“a gene drive”). The term sometimes is also used to describe a management tool or intent for product development or regulatory purposes.
- Process or Phenomenon: A gene drive is a phenomenon of biased inheritance in which the prevalence of a genetic element (natural or synthetic) or specific alternate form of a gene (allele) is increased, even in the presence of some fitness cost. This leads to the preferential increase of a specific genotype that may determine a specific phenotype from one generation to the next, and potentially spread throughout a population.
Less technical version: A gene drive is a process that promotes or favors the biased inheritance of certain genes from generation to generation
- Material Object: A gene drive is comprised of one or more genetic elements that can cause the process of biased inheritance in its favor. The set of necessary elements may be referred to as a gene drive system or simply a “gene drive.” Note that the presence of gene drive elements will not necessarily cause gene drive – many gene drive systems will cause the gene drive phenomenon only under specific circumstances, e.g. if they are present in the population above a certain threshold frequency, or if fitness costs are below a certain threshold. Note that gene drive, when defined as an object, need not always confer preferential transmission. Gene drives must ensure biased inheritance under at least some circumstances, but not necessarily all circumstances. For example, some gene drive systems confer preferential inheritance only when present in the population above a threshold frequency.
Less technical version: A gene drive is any genetic element able to bias its inheritance within a population.
- Intention: A gene drive may be intended as a management tool to achieve a particular goal. A gene drive may include additional “cargo” elements, in addition to the drive components, that are intended to introduce new trait(s) into an interbreeding population so as to effect a change in the characteristics of the population. A gene drive also may cause effects directly, for example by inserting into and disrupting a target gene. Thus,
Less technical version: A gene drive is a tool to effect certain changes in a population.”
We invite all those interested in gene drive technologies to indicate your support for this standardization initiative by becoming a signatory, and to use these definitions as appropriate in your publications and communications.
The following have expressed their support for these standardized definitions of gene drive
| First Name | Last Name | Title | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elena | Dalla Benetta | PhD | UCSD |
| Yu | Cai | Senior Principal Investigator | Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Singapore |
| John | Marshall | Assistant Professor | School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley |
| Michael | Santos | Associate Vice President, Science | Foundation for NIH |
| Stephanie | James | Senior Vice President, Science | Foundation for NIH |
| David | O’Brochta | Professor Emeritus | Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park |
| Hector | Quemada | Principal Research Associate | Western Michigan University |
| Holly | Tuten | Associate Scientist – Vector Ecology | University of Illinois |
| Gordana | Rasic | Senior Research Officer | QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute |
| Héctor M. | Sánchez C. | PhD | University of California, Berkeley |
| WILLY | TONUI | Executive Director | EHS Consultancy Ltd, Kenya |
| Charles | Guissou | Dr | Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso |
| Austin | Burt | Professor of Evolutionary Genetics | Professor of Evolutionary Genetics |
| Omar | Akbari | Professor | Professor |
| Tom | Turpen | Principal | Technology Innovation Group |
| Tony | Nolan | Dr | Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine |
| Estela | Gonzalez Fernandez | PhD | The Pirbright Institute |
| Luke | Alphey | Professor | The Pirbright Institute |
| Raiza Stephany | Rivera | Research Assistant | Institute on Ethics and Policy for Innovation, McMaster University |
| Matthew | Grellette | Research Associated | Institute on Ethics and Policy for Innovation |
| Travis | Ramsay | Research and Policy Analyst | Institute on Ethics and Policy for Innovation |
| Mamadou | Coulibaly | Vector Biologist | Malaria Research & Training Center at the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako, Bamako, Mali |
| Jonathan | Kayondo | Dr. | Uganda Virus Research Institute |
| Stephanie | Gamez | PhD | Agragene Inc. |
| Diabate | Abdoulaye | Dr | IRSS |
| Moussa | Savadogo | Dr | African Union Development Agency- Integrated Vector Control Program |
| ABDALLAH | DAAR | Professor | MEMBER OF THE AFRICAN PANEL ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES (APET) |
| Camilla | Beech | Ms | Cambea Consulting Ltd |
| Monika | Gulia- Nuss | Dr. | University of Nevada Reno |
| Robert | Friedman | VP for Policy | J. Craig Venter Institute |
| Molly | Duman Scheel | Professor | Indiana University School of Medicine |
| Chitu Womehoma | Princewill | Dr. | National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) |
| TINGA JEREMY | OUEDRAOGO | Head African Biosafety Network of Expertise programme | AUDA-NEPAD |
| Keshava | Mysore | Asst. Research Professor | Indiana University |
| Joseph | Wagman | PhD | PATH |
| Stephen | Panossian | Agricultural Inspector II | Md. Dept. of Agriculture |
| Maria Luisa | Simoes | Faculty Research Associate | Johns Hopkins University |
| Brian B. | Tarimo | Research Scientist | Ifakara Health Institute |
| Filippo (Fil) | Randazzo | Ph.D. | Leverage Science, LLC. |
| Fredros | Okumu | Director of Science | Ifakara Health Institute |
| Louis K. | Penali | PhD | Malriologist, Institut Pasteur Côte d’Ivoire |
| Claudia | Emerson | Director & Associate Professor | Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation, McMaster University |
| Tibebu | Habtewold | dr | Imperial College London |
| Kevin M. | Esvelt | Assistant Professor | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Anthony | James | Donald Bren and Distinguished Professor | University of California, Irvine |
| Ivan | Rwomushana | Senior Scientist-Invasive Species | CABI Kenya |
| Max | Scott | Professor | NC State University |
| Damaris | Matoke-Muhia | Dr | Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) |
| Marius | Walter | Dr. | Buck institute |
| Kanya | Long | Assistant Professor | University of California, San Diego |
| Robyn | Raban | Research Data Analyst | University of California San Diego |
| Aaron | Roberts | Graduate Research Assistant | Institute on Ethics and Policy for Innovation, McMaster University |
| Ann Njoki | Kingiri | Senior Researcher | African Centre for Technology Studies |
| Nourou | Barry | Social scientist, PhD | Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS/DRO) |
| Anna | Lindholm | PD Dr | University of Zurich |
| Isaiah | Shriner | Research Assistant | University of California, San Diego |
| Fuchs | Silke | Regulatory Scientist | Imperial College London |
