Keywords: Biodiversity/Conservation
Why are gene drive technologies being considered to help restore biodiversity on islands?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive, Invasive species, VideoOutreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024.
Researchers have been studying how to harness gene drives to solve some of society’s most intractable problems for a long time. Public health and ecosystem conservation are two of the main areas where research has focused, although other uses are also possible.
Is Kenya ready to turn to technology to finally defeat malaria?
Tags: Africa, Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, MalariaBrygettes Ngana, Nation, 2024.
For decades, researchers have tested and refined dozens of methods to combat malaria, striving to outmaneuver the resilient mosquito. From deploying bed nets to developing indoor residual spraying, these strategies have formed the frontline defense against this persistent ...
New genetic-editing technique to alter the traits and fates of wild populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Ecology, Invasive species, Other mammalsLori Dajose, CalTech, 2024.
Gene drives are a common technology used to insert a novel gene into a population—for example, to make mosquitos resistant to malaria. They can also be used to modify existing genes, such as making herbicide-resistant weeds susceptible to herbicides once again or even to ...
No Such Thing as Containment? Gene Drives for Conservation and the (Im)possibility of an Island
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Containment, Gene driveBoersma, K., Bovenkerk, B. and Ludwig, D., Philosophy and Technology, 37:75. 2024.
This article explores the use of islands as tools of geographical and intellectual containment - or what we call “islanding” - in the scientific and policy literature about gene drive technologies in conservation. In the first part of the article, we explore the narrative of ...
Gene Drive Technology Unlocks Innovative Potential Solutions At The Intersection Of Climate Change And Public Health
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive, Malaria, MosquitoesKrystal Birungi, African Media Agency, 2023.
The inaugural ‘Day of Health’ at the UN Climate Conference (COP-28) highlighted the dramatic impact of climate change on health, diseases and in particular on malaria. Heads of State and climate experts converged in Dubai to emphasise the indisputable link between climate ...
ISAAA Inc. | Genetic Tools For Conservation and Health: What’s The Role of Gene Drives?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Video, WebinarKristine Grace N. Tome, Science Speaks, 2023.
ISAAA Inc., in partnership with the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research and the Malaysian Biotechnology Information Centre (MABIC), gathered approximately 834 online participants during the webinar Genetic Tools for Conservation and Health: What's the Role of Gene Drives? ...
Research breakthrough in genetic biocontrol striving to transform pest management: Centre for Invasive Species Solutions
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Oceania, RodentsARR News, Australian Rural and Regional News, 2023.
A potential new non-lethal and ethical approach to control invasive mammal pests was showcased at a briefing held at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide on Tuesday 31 October. Hosted by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and the ...
Genetic tools for conservation and health: What’s the Role of Gene Drive?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive syntheticISAAA, Institute of Agricultural Science for Southern Viet Nam, 2023.
The potential uses and impacts of gene drive technologies have garnered increasing interest at the international and national levels across the world. As part of the effort to contribute to an informed debate around gene drive technologies, the Outreach Network for Gene Drive ...
Millions of Mosquitoes Will Rain Down on Hawaii to Save an Iconic Bird
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Birds, Incompatible insect technique, WolbachiaS. Wild, Scientific American, 2023.
Millions of mosquitoes dropped from helicopters could be the greatest hope for Hawaii’s iconic honeycreepers. At least four species of the brightly colored birds could go extinct within the year if no action is taken to save them. “We’re seriously in a race against time at ...
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 ...
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 ...
Novel Conservation Strategies to Conserve Australian Marsupials
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, OceaniaS. Legge, M. Hayward and A. Weeks, American and Australasian Marsupials, 2023.
The Australian marsupial fauna has been devastated in the past 250 years, mainly due to impacts from invasive mammalian predators (cats and foxes), although other threats such as invasive herbivores, habitat loss and fragmentation, changes to fire regimes, and now climate change ...
Draft environmental assessment released for using modified mosquitoes to save native birds on Kauaʻi
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Incompatible insect technique, Malaria, Mosquitoes, North America, WolbachiaAnonymous, Big Island NOW, 2023.
Today, the draft environmental assessment was made public for the use of Wolbachia-based incompatible male mosquitoes on Kauaʻi to stop the spread of avian malaria that is decimating native forest bird populations. The public has 31 days — from June 23 until July 24 — to ...
Draft environmental assessment for use of Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique for the suppression of nonnative southern house mosquito populations on Kauaʻi
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Culex, Incompatible insect technique, North America, WolbachiaHawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2023.
The State of Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources hereby transmits the Draft Environmental Assessment and Anticipated Finding of No Significant Impact (DEAEnvironmental Assessment for use of Wolbachia-based Incompatible Insect Technique for the suppression of ...
A framework for identifying fertility gene targets for mammalian pest control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Other mammals, Pest management, Population suppressionC. C. Anna, A. Alana, E. Rey, E. Kevin, K. Sebastian, D. Ludovic, C. Jackson, E. C. Samuel, W. M. Philipp and J. G. Neil, bioRxiv, 2023.05.30.542751. 2023.
Fertility-targeted gene drives have been proposed as an ethical genetic approach for managing wild populations of vertebrate pests for public health and conservation benefit. This manuscript introduces a framework to identify and evaluate target gene suitability based on ...
How genomics can help biodiversity conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, GenomicsK. Theissinger, C. Fernandes, G. Formenti, I. Bista, P. R. Berg, C. Bleidorn, A. Bombarely, A. Crottini, G. R. Gallo, J. A. Godoy, S. Jentoft, J. Malukiewicz, A. Mouton, R. A. Oomen, S. Paez, P. J. Palsbøll, C. Pampoulie, M. J. Ruiz-López, S. Secomandi, H, Trends in Genetics, 2023.
Genomics provides effective tools to characterize biodiversity, but the full implementation of genomic techniques in practical conservation is still limited. We review some of the main approaches in biodiversity genomics available to conservationists and genomicists.High-quality, ...
The Anthropocene as the End of Nature? Why Recognizing Interventionism Is Key in Coming to Terms with the Anthropocene
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive, Gene drive syntheticK. Boersma, ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS, 44:195-219. 2023.
In this article, I address and argue against the tendency to understand the anthropocene as inaugurating the end of nature. I conduct two key moves. First, by way of an engagement with the concept of anthropocene technology I explain how understanding the anthropocene as the end ...
Social justice environmental activists move to block gene editing to control invasive species and promote biodiversity. Here’s why they’re misguided
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, Other mammals, Policy, RegulationS. Smyth, Genetic Literacy Project, 2023.
Control of invasive species has been extremely difficult with eradication virtually impossible. To control invasive plant species, chemicals are commonly used while in some instances removal of plants by hand, as Shiva advocates, is undertaken. Efforts to control invasive animals ...
Gene drive-mediated population elimination for biodiversity conservation. When you come to a fork in the road, take it
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionB. A. Hay and M. Guo, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119:e2218020119. 2022.
How can the ability of t w2 to spread at super-Mendelian frequencies be utilized even if it is unable to directly drive the population to an unfit state? Gierus, Birand, and colleagues proposed placing Cas9 and a gRNA at a neutral position within the t haplotype. In this hybrid ...
New CRISPR tech makes it possible to wipe out invasive mice
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Population suppression, Rodents2022.
East Maui project hopes mosquito v. mosquito mating battle will save endangered birds
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Birds, Incompatible insect technique, Invasive species, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)K. Cerizo, MAUINOW, 2022.
Should NZ use contentious gene tech in our war on pests?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Oceania, Population suppressionJ. Morton, NZ Herald, 2022.
Gene-altering technology could offer “breakthrough opportunities” for saving our pest-threatened species, a new future-scoping report says, but there’d be some tricky issues to address before it’d be a realistic option. Scientists have already been exploring how these ...
Gene drive could be used to wipe out invasive mice on islands
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionM. Le Page, NewScientist, 2022.
For the first time, researchers have created a gene drive – a kind of genetic parasite – that could be used to eradicate mammalian pests such as mice by making them infertile. The technology could provide a humane alternative to the poison baits currently used to tackle ...
World first trial to eradicate mice through gene modification
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionI. Mannix, COSMOS, 2022.
Mouse populations could be eradicated in some areas through new gene modification technology to render female mice infertile. The technology – called t-CRISPR – was previously developed to target malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. This is the first proof of concept for its use ...
SHOULD WE CREATE GENE DRIVE GREY SQUIRRELS
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive syntheticS. Hartley and T. Law, GeneDriveGovernance.org, 2022.
UK scientists have proposed gene drive as a management tool to control grey squirrels. Now is a good time to talk about this emerging technology because the hopes and concerns of experts, stakeholders and the public can help to determine if or how it might be developed. To help ...
Gene drive technology to suppress invasive mice
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, RodentsUniversity of Adelaide, Phys Org, 2022.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have released their first findings on the potential effectiveness of revolutionary gene drive technology to control invasive mice. The team has developed a world-first proof of concept for the technology—called t-CRISPR—using ...
Leveraging a natural murine meiotic drive to suppress invasive populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionL. Gierus, A. Birand, M. D. Bunting, G. I. Godahewa, S. G. Piltz, K. P. Oh, A. J. Piaggio, D. W. Threadgill, J. Godwin, O. Edwards, P. Cassey, J. V. Ross, T. A. A. Prowse and P. Q. Thomas, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119:e2213308119. 2022.
Invasive rodents are a major cause of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, particularly on islands. Unlike insects, genetic biocontrol strategies including population-suppressing gene drives with biased inheritance have not been developed in mice. Here, we demonstrate a ...
Why we need to talk about ‘gene-drive’ grey squirrels
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagementAnonymous, University of Exeter, 2022.
Would the best way of controlling the UK’s rampant grey squirrel population be to spread genetic changes throughout the species? A new research film, to be shown next month at Exeter Phoenix, sees scientists, conservation and wildlife experts debate the use of emergent ...
Humans Have a Long History of Making ‘Very Bad Decisions’ to Save Animals
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaT. McDonnell, The New York Times, 2022.
Environmental reporter Tim McDonnell on the potential negative consequences of animal conservation efforts. McDonnell highlights Target Malaria’s research on gene drive to “eliminate malaria-carrying mosquitos” and quotes New Zealand researcher Philipp Messer saying that ...
ISAAA Policy Brief: Risk Assessment for Gene Drive Organisms
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyAnonymous, ISAAA, 2022.
Gene drive is a genetic phenomenon that occurs in nature and causes a selected trait to spread rapidly through a species via sexual reproduction over generations, potentially becoming increasingly common within a specific species. Gene drive systems are being developed in the ...
Gene Drive in Species Complexes: Defining Target Organisms
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Risk assessmentJ. B. Connolly, J. Romeis, Y. Devos, D. C. M. Glandorf, G. Turner and M. B. Coulibaly, Trends in Biotechnology, 2022.
Engineered gene drives, which bias their own inheritance to increase in frequency in target populations, are being developed to control mosquito malaria vectors. Such mosquitoes can belong to complexes of both vector and non-vector species that can produce fertile interspecific ...
Genetically-enhanced biocontrols can help fight large invasive mammals
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Other mammalsPensoft Publishers, Science Daily, 2022.
A team of researchers from the University of Adelaide developed a mathematical model able to simulate the impact of gene drives on mammal populations at a landscape scale. Published in the open-access NeoBiotajournal, their study is the first to estimate the time it would take to ...
Scalability of genetic biocontrols for eradicating invasive alien mammals
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Modeling, Other mammalsA. Birand, P. Cassey, J. V. Ross, P. Q. Thomas and T. A. A. Prowse, NeoBiota, 74:93-103. 2022.
CRISPR-based gene drives offer novel solutions for controlling invasive alien species, which could ultimately extend eradication efforts to continental scales. Gene drives for suppressing invasive alien vertebrates are now under development. Using a landscape-scale ...
Do Australians support genetic technology to control feral animals?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Other mammalsE. Phiddian, COSMOS, 2022.
Synthetic biology and genetic technology could be a safer, more humane way of curbing invasive species. Feral cat populations, for instance, could be controlled by preventing them from breeding. But there’s no point trying a new technology it if it doesn’t have public ...
Public perspectives towards using gene drive for invasive species management in Australia
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Oceania, Other mammals, Policy, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagementA. Mankad, E. V. Hobman and L. Carter, CSIRO, 2022.
Many pest animal species live and reproduce in high numbers across Australia. This includes animal species, such as cane toads, feral cats, foxes, rodents, wild pigs, wild rabbits. These species significantly damage Australia’s agricultural industries, natural landscapes, and ...
Breeding out the feral cat problem
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Other mammalsS. Schmidt, ECOS, 2022.
While feral cats have only existed as part of Australia’s ecosystem for the last 200 or so years, they’ve left a destructive mark on our landscape. They’ve contributed to a growing list of Australian native animals that have become threatened or extinct in that time. ...
The suppressive potential of a gene drive in populations of invasive social wasps is currently limited
Tags: Aedes, Biodiversity/Conservation, Biological control, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, ModelingA. B. Meiborg, N. R. Faber, B. A. Taylor, B. A. Harpur and G. Gorjanc, bioRxiv, 2022.06.27.497711. 2022.
Social insects are very successful invasive species, and the continued increase of global trade and transportation has exacerbated this problem. The yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (henceforth Asian hornet), is drastically expanding its range in Western Europe. ...
Australians open to using genetic technology to manage feral cats
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Oceania, Other mammalsCSIRO, MIRAGE, 2022.
New genetic technologies could help address the rise of invasives through a number of ways, one of which is called gene drive. Gene drive can determine the sex of offspring, reducing the number of animals able to reproduce, and therefore over time driving down populations. ...
Natural and Engineered Sex Ratio Distortion in Insects
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Transmission distortion, WolbachiaA. Compton and Z. Tu, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. 2022.
Insects have evolved highly diverse genetic sex-determination mechanisms and a relatively balanced male to female sex ratio is generally expected. However, selection may shift the optimal sex ratio while meiotic drive and endosymbiont manipulation can result in sex ratio ...
Generation of Gene Drive Mice for Invasive Pest Population Suppression
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Rodents, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionM. D. Bunting, C. Pfitzner, L. Gierus, M. White, S. Piltz and P. Q. Thomas, Applications of Genome Modulation and Editing, 2022.
Gene drives are genetic elements that are transmitted to greater than 50% of offspring and have potential for population modification or suppression. While gene drives are known to occur naturally, the recent emergence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology has enabled ...
Mosquito control to save Hawaiian honeycreepers does not involve GMOs
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Culex, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Incompatible insect technique, North America, WolbachiaDepartment of Land and Natural Resources, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2022.
Despite misinformation circulating on social media, the importation of “incompatible-male” mosquitoes to control populations of wild mosquitoes and to save four native bird species from extinction, does not involve the use of any genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or ...
Investigating CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive for production of disease-preventing prion gene alleles
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Other mammalsA. R. Castle, S. Wohlgemuth, L. Arce and D. Westaway, PLoS One, 17:e0269342. 2022.
Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders that includes chronic wasting disease, which affects cervids and is highly transmissible. Given that chronic wasting disease prevalence exceeds 30% in some endemic areas of North America, and that eventual ...
What role can gene editing play in predator control? And are we ready to accept it?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, OceaniaK. Green, Stuff, 2022.
The once-forbidden concept of gene editing for predator control is back on the table after two projects receivedGovernment funding. Despite advances overseas, experts are worried research in New Zealand will never make it out of the lab, with no plans to change current ...
The principles driving gene drives for conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Governance, Invasive species, PolicyS. Hartley, R. Taitingfong and P. Fidelman, Environmental Science and Policy, 135:36-45. 2022.
Gene drive technology is an emerging biotechnology with the potential to address some of the most intractable global biodiversity conservation issues. Scientists are exploring potential gene drive applications for managing invasive species and building resilience in keystone ...
GeneConvene Global Collaborative Webinar Series | Demystifying the Convention on Biological Diversity – Seven Videos
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Governance, Synthetic biology, WebinarHector Quemada and David O'Brochta, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international agreement aimed at providing the legal framework for country cooperation to conserve biodiversity, while also enabling its sustainable use, and providing for fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from ...
Track New Zealand’s Bid to Take Back Nature
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Invasive species, Oceania, Other mammalsK. Peek, Scientific American, 2022.
A thousand years ago the islands that today form New Zealand were riotously wild. Birds, reptiles and invertebrates flourished in lush forests hundreds of miles from any other landmass. Māori settlers in the 1200s brought Polynesian rats for food, and together the humans and the ...
Gene drives for vertebrate pest control: realistic spatial modelling of eradication probabilities and times for island mouse populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Other mammals, Replicator/site directed nucleaseA. Birand, P. Cassey, J. V. Ross, J. C. Russell, P. Thomas and T. A. A. Prowse, Molecular Ecology, 2022.
Abstract Invasive alien species continue to threaten global biodiversity. CRISPR-based gene drives, which can theoretically spread through populations despite imparting a fitness cost, could be used to suppress or eradicate pest populations. We develop an individual-based, ...
Scientists expand CRISPR-Cas9 genetic inheritance control in mammals
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, RodentsM. Aguilera, Phys Org, 2022.
Led by graduate student Alexander Weitzel, Grunwald, Cooper and their colleagues have now succeeded in developing CRISPR-Cas9 inheritance control in male mice by shifting the gene editing window to more closely match the timing of meiosis in both sexes. Their results were ...
How sci-fi weapon could stop grey squirrels killing Britain’s trees
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Rodentsrymeradelle, INentertainment, 2021.
Grey squirrels pose the greatest threat to British foresters at the moment. They eat the bark of trees, leaving them to die. Picture: Grey squirrel perched on a tree It’s bad enough watching Britain’s ash trees wither from the ash dieback fungus now ravaging our countryside. ...
New developments in the field of genomic technologies and their relevance to conservation management
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genomics, Invasive speciesG. Segelbacher, M. Bosse, P. Burger, P. Galbusera, J. A. Godoy, P. Helsen, C. Hvilsom, L. Iacolina, A. Kahric, C. Manfrin, M. Nonic, D. Thizy, I. Tsvetkov, N. Veličković, C. Vilà, S. M. Wisely and E. Buzan, Conservation Genetics, 2021.
Recent technological advances in the field of genomics offer conservation managers and practitioners new tools to explore for conservation applications. Many of these tools are well developed and used by other life science fields, while others are still in development. ...
A Golden Menace
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, South/Central AmericaS. Moutinho, Science, 2021.
An even bigger catastrophe looms: the invasion of the Amazon and its tributaries, part of the largest drainage basin in South America, which spans eight countries and is one of the richest hot spots for biodiversity on the planet. Golden mussels have been documented in the ...
Genetically-modified possums and all-in-one trapping machines: funding for new predator-free studies
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, OceaniaA. Allott, stuff, 2021.
Research into possum genes and creating an all-in-one predator detecting, luring, and trapping machine are among a handful of projects to receive new funding to help bring them into reality. Predator Free 2050 has awarded $2.4 million in Jobs for Nature funding to six ...
Faut-il miser sur le forçage génétique contre les espèces invasives?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive speciesP. Minet, Le Temps, 2021.
Un «gene drive» peut servir à annihiler complètement et rapidement une population d’animaux indésirables. Prometteuse pour lutter contre les espèces invasives, cette technologie a fait l’objet d’âpres débats dans le cadre du congrès mondial de la nature à ...
Scientists debate promise, peril of tweaking wild genomes
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, RodentsJ. Zamora, Phys Org, 2021.
In the movie Jurassic Park, reconstructing and tweaking genetic material makes it possible to bring dinosaurs back to life. Today, a technology that manipulates animal genomes, called gene drive, has become a reality. The goal, however, is not to revive long-gone species, but to ...
The international governance of gene drive organisms
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Governance, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyF. Rabitz, Environmental Politics, 2021.
Gene Drive Organisms (GDOs) are a proposed biotechnological intervention that might generate significant benefits for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity while also raising critical biosafety issues. Despite their inevitable transboundary effects, their ...
Invasive Mice and Engineered Genes
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive speciesW. M. Adams and K. H. Redford, Yale University Press Blog, 2021.
On Gough Island, a steep speck of land deep in the South Atlantic, giant mice eat albatross chicks as they sit on their nests. They are house mice, accidental arrivals on the ships of long-dead sealers. But they have lost their secretive, timid, mousy ways. Over numerous ...
World Nature Conservation Day: Technology to Forge a Path for Nature Conservation and Communities
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive speciesP. Becker, Isand Conservation, 2021.
Gene drives are a genetic phenomenon that occurs in nature and causes a gene or trait to have a greater than 50% chance of inheritance. Island Conservation and partners have formed the Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents (GBIRd) partnership, to explore the technical and social ...
Genetically Modifying Bats Could Prevent the Next Pandemic, Scientists Say
Tags: Arbovirus, Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Other mammalsG. Dutton, BioSpace, 2021.
The next COVID pandemic could be prevented by using a gene drive to preemptively edit the genome of bats to prevent them from becoming hosts for coronaviruses, according to a proposal by scientists from Israel’s Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzelia and the National ...
Gene Drive: The Technology and its Potentials for Biodiversity Conservatio
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive syntheticZ. Bugnosen, Science Speaks, 2021.
Gene drive is a gene editing tool that is rapidly advancing as scientists investigate further its potentials to address concerns related to agriculture, the environment, and even human health. To help the public understand it better, ISAAA and its network of Biotechnology ...
European Parliament calls for ban on gene drive technology
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetySave Our Seeds, Save Our Seeds, 2021.
The European Parliament yesterday confirmedi it‘s precautionary stance towards the use of a new genetic engineering technology called gene drive. In its report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, adopted at the European Parliament’s plenary on 08.06.2021, ...
First evidence of deviation from Mendelian proportions in a conservation programme
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Transmission distortionC. E. Grueber, K. A. Farquharson, B. R. Wright, G. P. Wallis, C. J. Hogg and K. Belov, Molecular Ecology, 13. 2021.
Classic Mendelian inheritance is the bedrock of population genetics and underpins pedigree-based management of animal populations. However, assumptions of Mendelian inheritance might not be upheld in conservation breeding programmes if early viability selection occurs, even when ...
Cloning wildlife and editing their genes to protect them and us.
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Biological control, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrolH. Thomasy, NEO-LIFE, 2021.
In December 10, 2020, Elizabeth Ann made history just by being born. She isn’t a British royal, an American married to a British royal, a movie star’s daughter, or even human for that matter. Elizabeth Ann is a ferret—but perhaps the most famous ferret of all time. More ...
The legal regulation of gene drive technologies
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive, Governance, Policy, Regulation, Synthetic biologyC. Elves, Univeristy of Oxford, 2021.
Gene drive technologies purport to provide a panacea and yet in doing so present unprecedented risks that threaten to change, potentially irreversibly, the way in which we live in the world. Gene drive technologies raise questions about what ends societies ought to seek for their ...
Renew Europe | The science & ethics of gene drive technology from a conservation & development perspective
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Regulation, WebinarRenew Europe, Renew Europe, 2021.
This hearing intends to examine gene-drive technology and its possible impacts, including unintended ones and reveal the complexity of an unknown technology with inherent uncertainties. Scientists from different backgrounds in the field of gene-drive research will present most ...
How Brussels can help or hinder the fight against malaria
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaF. Okumu, EURACTIV, 2021.
In the wake of the pandemic, the world has much for which to thank Europe. Not only did European science lead the field in developing the first approved vaccine against COVID-19, but the EU’s long history of rigorous regulatory approval has also allowed for public confidence in ...
Designing gene drives to limit spillover to non-target populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Malaria, Modeling, Replicator/site directed nucleaseG. Greenbaum, M. W. Feldman, N. A. Rosenberg and J. Kim, PLOS Genetics, 17:e1009278. 2021.
We develop mathematical models of gene-drive dynamics that incorporate migration between a target and non-target populations to investigate the possibility of effectively applying a gene drive in the target population while limiting its spillovers to the non-target population ...
Plain language summary: How do we have a public conversation about new technologies for conservation? The possibilities and pitfalls of scientific language
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Oceania, Stakeholder engagement, Synthetic biologyAnnonymous, Relational Thinking, 2021.
Having caused a catastrophic decline of animal species, people now look to new technologies to reverse the damage. Gene drive is a potential tool that could increase the proportion of male offspring in rat populations and eventually reduce their overall numbers. Some suggest this ...
A Code of Ethics for Gene Drive Research
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Policy, Risk and safety, Risk assessmentG. J. Annas, C. L. Beisel, K. Clement, A. Crisanti, S. Francis, M. Galardini, R. Galizi, J. Grünewald, G. Immobile, A. S. Khalil, R. Müller, V. Pattanayak, K. Petri, L. Paul, L. Pinello, A. Simoni, C. Taxiarchi and J. K. Joung, The CRISPR Journal, 4:19:1-8. 2021.
A code of ethics can be a useful tool for all parties involved in the development and regulation of gene drives and can be used to help ensure that a balanced analysis of risks, benefits, and values is taken into consideration for the interest of society and humanity. We have ...
Assisting Evolution: How Far Should We Go to Help Species Adapt?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, Oceania, Synthetic biologyE. Kolbert, YaleEnvironment360, 2021.
It was a hot, intensely blue day in the Australian Outback, about 350 miles north of Adelaide. I was tagging along with Moseby as she checked the batteries on the motion-sensitive cameras that dot Arid Recovery, an ecosystem restoration project she and her husband launched in ...
Should we dim the sun? Will we even have a choice
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, Oceania, Synthetic biologyE. Klein, New York Times, 2021.
“Under a White Sky” is going to be on my best books of 2021 list. It’s a wonderful work. Kolbert is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Sixth Extinction,” which you may have read. She is a staff writer at The New Yorker and just one of the great science ...
Playing God and tampering with nature: popular labels for real concerns in synthetic biology
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, Policy, Risk and safety, Risk assessment, Stakeholder engagement, Synthetic biologyL. Carter, A. Mankad, E. V. Hobman and N. B. Porter, Transgenic Research, 2021.
We present the findings from a large Australian study (N = 4593) which suggests ‘playing God’ objections and their variants can be multilayered and, at times, accompanied by meaningful information about risk perceptions. We use qualitative analysis of ope
Exploring Gene Drive Technologies in Agriculture, Biodiversity and Human Disease
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementThe GBIRd Partnership and The GeneConvene Global Collaborative, Gene Drive Research Forum, 2021.
The GBIRd Partnership and The GeneConvene Global Collaborative recently collaborated through The Gene Drive Research Forum, to create and produce an engaging conversation between Drs. Fred Gould and Charles Godfray about gene drive technologies – the potential benefits and ...
CRISPR and the splice to survive: New gene-editing technology could be used to save species from extinction—or to eliminate them.
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Mosquitoes, Oceania, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionE. Kolbert, New Yorker, 2021.
About a year ago, not long before the pandemic began, I paid a visit to the center, which is an hour southwest of Melbourne. The draw was an experiment on a species of giant toad known familiarly as the cane toad. The toad was introduced to Australia as an agent of pest control, ...
Conservation pest control with new technologies: public perceptions
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Oceania, Policy, Regulation, Risk assessment, Stakeholder engagementE. A. MacDonald, M. B. Neff, E. Edwards, F. Medvecky and J. Balanovic, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2021.
We conducted eleven focus groups in New Zealand to explore three questions about novel technologies (gene drive and two others for comparison of pest control tools): (1) what are the risks/benefits? (2) how do they compare to current methods? and (3) who should be represented on ...
The New Yorker Magazine: Gene Drives as a Tool for Saving Nature
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Rodents, X chromosome, Y-chromosomeE. Heber, Island Conservation, 2021.
In a recent New Yorker Magazine article, entitled “CRISPR and the Splice to Survive,” journalist and best-selling author Elizabeth Kolbert dives into the world of gene drive research. She touches on aspects of gene drive research from altering the toxin produced by cane toads ...
Invasive Species Control and Resolution of Wildlife Damage Conflicts: A Framework for Chemical and Genetically Based Management Methods
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Other mammals, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyL. Clark, J. Eisemann, J. Godwin, K. E. Horak, K. Oh, J. O’Hare, A. Piaggio, K. Pepin and E. Ruell, GMOs: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Processes, 2020.
Vertebrate wildlife damage management relates to developing and employing methods to mitigate against damage caused by wildlife in the areas of food production, property damage, and animal or human health and safety. Of the many management tools available
GMOs: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Processes
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyChaurasia, Anurag , Hawksworth, David L., Pessoa de Miranda, Manoela., GMOs: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Processes, 2020.
This book covers a broad spectrum of topics related to GMOs and allied new gene-based technologies, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes, bringing together the contributions of researchers and regulators from around the world. The aim is to offer a clear view of the benefits and ...
Engineering biological diversity: the international governance of synthetic biology, gene drives, and de-extinction for conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Governance, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyJ. L. Reynolds, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 49:1-6. 2020.
In the face of insufficient progress in conserving and restoring biodiversity, the in situ use of advanced genetic modification, gene drives, and other biotechnologies for conservation purposes are being considered, researched, and developed. This paper introduces the methods, ...
Gene drives, species, and compassion for individuals in conservation biology
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safetyY. Rohwer, Ethics, Policy and Environment, 2020.
In this paper I argue that these compassionate conservationists have a moral obligation to support the investigation and development of genetic modification technologies because of their potential to minimize suffering and eliminate killing in conservation. Furthermore, I will ...
When Extinction is Warranted: Invasive Species, Suppression-Drives, and the Worst-Case Scenario
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safetyA. C. Thresher, Ethics, Policy and Environment, 2020.
The focus of this paper is on one such risk ? the danger of a suppression-drive escaping containment and wiping out the target species globally. Here, I argue that in most cases this risk is significant enough to warrant holding off on the technology. In some cases, however, we ...
GeneConvene Global Collaborative Webinar | Research and Innovation for biodiversity: what role for gene drive research?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagement, WebinarEP Intergroup CCBSD, European Bureau of Conservation and Development, 2020.
This webinar will provide an overview of how gene drive works and the problems it seeks to solve, introduce the most advanced research projects on gene drive in the sector of public health and conservation and present the work that international and European bodies such as WHO, ...
Modeling CRISPR gene drives for suppression of invasive rodents
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Resistance, RodentsS. E. Champer, N. Oakes, R. Sharma, P. García-Díaz, J. Champer and P. W. Messer, bioRxiv, 2020.11.05.369942. 2020.
Here, we develop a high-fidelity model of an island population of invasive rodents that includes three types of suppression gene drive systems. The individual-based model is spatially explicit and allows for overlapping generations and a fluctuating population size. Our model ...
Interview with Professor Austin Burt: Role of gene drive technology in the context of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy 2030
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Target malariaS. Dunphy, European Scientist, 2020.
In view of these conditions, leading scientists are calling on EU institutions to continue to back research into gene drive as a potential tool to protect public health and deliver on Europe’s biodiversity goals. Experts believe gene drive technologies could be a vital and ...
Why the UK could end up deploying risky gene drives while ignoring natural biological control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Regulation, RodentsJ. Mathews, GM Watch, 2020.
First they cloned Dolly the sheep. Now they’re targeting grey squirrels
Teach Me in 10 – Gene Drive Research with Dr. Jennifer Baltzegar
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, HistoryJ. Baltzegar, Technology Networks, 2020.
Dr Baltzegar teaches us about how the maturation of genetic engineering approaches has advanced gene drives, the two different strategies for gene drives and some of the key questions surrounding the application of gene drives in society.
Underlying beliefs linked to public opinion about gene drive and pest-specific toxin for pest control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, GeneticsE. A. MacDonald, E. Edwards, J. Balanovic and F. Medvecky, Wildlife Research, 2020.
Public engagement that acknowledges and responds to these underlying beliefs, rather than a traditional campaign based on biodiversity and environmental gains, may be more effective at creating a constructive dialogue about if and how these tools should be used, and to avoid ...
Generating single-sex litters: development of CRISPR-Cas9 genetic tools to produce all-male offspring
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Rodents, Sex distorterC. Douglas, V. Maciulyte, J. Zohren, D. M. Snell, O. A. Ojarikre, P. J. Ellis and J. M. A. Turner, bioRxiv, 2020.09.07.285536. 2020.
Using the mouse as a model, we developed a synthetic, two-part bicomponent strategy for generating all-male litters.
Governing New Biotechnologies for Biodiversity Conservation: Gene Drives, International Law, and Emerging Politics
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Synthetic biologyJ. L. Reynolds, Global Environmental Politics, 20:28-48. 2020.
This article describes and analyzes the international law and politics of gene drives’ research, development, and possible use, with an emphasis on their potential biodiversity applications.
Researchers’ Plan To Release Genetically Engineered American Chestnut Trees in Forests Will Set Dangerous Precedents If Approved
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrolGlobal Justice Ecology Project, Common Dreams, 2020.
Researchers are working with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to finalize a petition requesting the unprecedented approval of a genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) tree designed to be planted in our forests and spread freely in the wild. Once the ...
Maintenance management and eradication of established aquatic invaders
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Biological control, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Simberloff, Hydrobiologia, 22. 2020.
The rapid development of technologies based on genetics has engendered excitement about possibly eradicating or controlling terrestrial invaders, and such technologies may also prove useful for certain aquatic invaders. Methods of particular interest, alone or in various ...
Lettre ouverte a Monsieur le Premier Ministre demandant l’interdiction de la production, de l’utilisation et de la dissémination de tout OGM issu du forçage génétique
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyA. Bossu, N. Laarman, D. Houdebine, H. Le Meur, F. Jacquemart and F. Warlop, Open Letter, 2020.
A. Bossu, N. Laarman, D. Houdebine, H. Le Meur, F. Jacquemart and F. Warlop (2020). Open Letter. An open letter from French civil society organizations urging the French Parliament to support a resolution at the upcoming Convention on Biodiversity that would call for a ...
Conservation implications of disease control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyJ. C. Buck, S. B. Weinstein, G. Titcomb and H. S. Young, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 6. 2020.
Infectious diseases have indelibly altered human history and, in doing so, have shaped the ecology and conservation of the natural world. Attempts to control diseases often result in adverse environmental impacts, including habitat degradation and unintended outcomes such as ...
Le forçage génétique (gène drive) et ses applications
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive syntheticV. Courtier-Orgogozo, Bulletin de l'Académie Vétérinaire de France, 172:94-98. 2020.
Gene drive is a new genetic engineering technology that has been developed over the past five years and that allows genetic modifications to spread rapidly in natural populations. Potential applications are numerous, for public health issues, agriculture and conservation biology. ...
The EU not ready for the release of Gene drive organisms into the environment.
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Europe, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk assessmentPensoft Publishers, ScienceDaily, 2020.
In their study, published in the open-access journal BioRisk, an international group of scientists led by Marion Dolezel from the Environment Agency Austria, discuss the potential risks and impacts on the environment.
GENE DRIVE ORGANISMS: Implications for the environment and nature conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyM. Dolezel, S. Simon, M. Otto, M. Engelhard and W. Zughart, Umweltbundesamt, 2020.
Recent advances in biotechnology aim at the genetic modification of wild living populations. Some potential applications consider self-propagating genetic elements to generate gene drive organisms (GDOs), also for nature conservation. Due to the potential of GDOs to spread ...
The risks of using gene drives to get rid of ‘pesky species’
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive syntheticR. Lewis, Genetic Literacy Project, 2020.
The mammals of New Zealand have long posed a threat to native species. The Predator Free 2050 program is an effort to rid the island of these invaders – including using the tools of CRISPR-based genome editing to create a gene drive to jumpstart extinctions. It’s a very ...
Stakeholder workshop “Problem formulation for the environmental risk assessment of gene drive modified insects” (15 May 2019, Brussels)
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, PolicyEuropean Food Safety, A., Devos, Y., Gallani, B. & Firbank, L. G, A. European Food Safety, Y. Devos, B. Gallani and L. G. Firbank, 17:1819E. 2020.
Recent advances in molecular and synthetic biology are enabling the engineering of gene drives that spread genes of interest through interbreeding populations at a frequency greater than the rate expected by simple Mendelian inheritance. At present, insects represent the most ...
NZ’s great pest-free quest: can we get there?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, OceaniaJ. Morton, NZ Herald, 2020.
The Government has unveiled how it plans to rid New Zealand of possums, rats and stoats by 2050 – but there's no specific mention of contentious gene-editing technology that many scientists say will be needed. The Predator Free 2050 strategy, being formally launched this ...
What squirrels can teach us about why, when, and how to use gene drives
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, RodentsRebecca Nesbit, synbiobeta, 2020.
As the last ice age drew to a close, red squirrels made Britain their home. They adapted to a changing landscape and thrived as the UK’s only squirrel species. That all changed in 1876 when grey squirrels were introduced to England from North America as an ornamental species in ...
Risk assessment challenges of synthetic gene drive organisms
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyE. Sirinathsinghji, TWN Biosafety Briefing, 2020.
Engineering Bugs, Resurrecting Species: The Wild World of Synthetic Biology for Conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Dengue, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, MalariaP. Rejcek, Singularity Hub, 2020.
Imagine a world where a mosquito bite is just an itchy annoyance. No malaria. No dengue fever. Last month, scientists announced they had taken one more step toward that vision. A paper in the journal PLOS Pathogens described how they synthetically engineered mosquitoes to stop ...
Can CRISPR Save Tufty Fluffytail?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsL. Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 2020.
The native red squirrel population in the UK has been decimated by the encroachment of its American cousin, an invasive species. Could a “gene drive” hel
Mosquitoes Genetically Engineered To Resist Dengue Fever
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsR. Bailey, reason, 2020.
Gene drives could spread this beneficial trait through wild mosquito populations.
Regulation of GM Organisms for Invasive Species Control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessmentH. J. Mitchell and D. Bartsch, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 7:1-11. 2020.
Invasive species can cause significant harm to the environment, agriculture, and human health, but there are often very limited tools available to control their populations. Gene drives (GD) have been proposed as a new tool which could be used to control or eliminate such ...
DNA ‘edit’ that could wipe out grey invaders
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsLevy, A., Scottish Daily Mail, 2020.
It is the big, brash invasive species whose advance has left the native red squirrel clinging on for survival in areas where once it thrived. But the march of the grey squirrel could be halted by a 'gene drive', say researchers at the laboratory responsible for Dolly the sheep.
Metaphor, Trust and Support for Non-native Species Control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Invasive species, Pest management, Policy, Stakeholder engagement, Synthetic biologyP. A. Kohl, S. J. Collins and M. Eichholz, Environmental Communication, 14:672-685. 2020.
This experimental study used a representative sample of U.S. residents (N = 1,042) to test whether the use of the term "invasive" increases support for non-native species control efforts. The term invasive had a small influence on support for two out of three non-native species ...
Scenario analysis on the use of rodenticides and sex-biasing gene drives for the removal of invasive house mice on islands
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, RodentsM. E. Serr, R. X. Valdez, K. S. Barnhill-Dilling, J. Godwin, T. Kuiken and M. Booker, Biological Invasions, 2020.
Since the 1960s conservation efforts have focused on recovering island biodiversity by eradicating invasive rodents. These eradication campaigns have led to considerable conservation gains, particularly for nesting seabirds. However, eradications are complex and lengthy endeavors ...
Red squirrels to thrive again in Britain as new plan considered to eradicate grey breed
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsHudson, W., Express, 2020.
RED SQUIRRELS could soon be thriving in Britain again as a new plan to put an end to destructive grey squirrels is being developed. The 150 year reign of the grey squirrel could come to a halt from DNA editing to ensure all future females are born infertile. Researchers at the ...
Scientists want to hack grey squirrels to death
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsCutlack, C., Gizmodo, 2020.
Scottish scientists are planning to hack the DNA of the often-hated grey squirrel, in hope that selectively breeding a broken female strain could lead to their eventual eradication from the wild. It's the only way a map of Scotland is likely to turn red in the foreseeable future.
Scientists behind Dolly the sheep want to edit squirrel DNA to get rid of greys and protect reds UK
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsBedoya, D., Inforsurhoy, 2020.
The scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep are now targeting grey squirrels in a bid to rid Britain of them altogether.
First they cloned Dolly the sheep. Now they’re targeting grey squirrels
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Other mammals, RodentsLeake, J., The Times, 2020.
For 150 years they have wreaked havoc on Britain’s woods and wildlife, but the destructive reign of the grey squirrel could soon be over — ended by DNA editing to ensure that all future females are born infertile. Researchers at the Roslin Institute, the genetics laboratory ...
Dolly the sheep scientists hope DNA editing can wipe out grey squirrels
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Other mammals, RodentsMcLaughlin, M., The Scotsman, 2020.
They have been poisoned, shot at, and stumbled into traps laid by those who regard them as a ruinous blight on the country’s woodland and wildlife. But now, the grey squirrel is facing arguably its biggest threat yet, with plans to harness the cutting edge of genetic science ...
Gene drives : equity demands civility
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive syntheticN. Kofler, Nature, 565:25. 2020.
At the 14th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity late last year, I witnessed the rapid deterioration of a crucial discussion. It was on the potential of synthetic biology in environmental conservation. What started as heckling turned ...
Genetic frontiers for conservation: An assessment of synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Genetic engineering, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessment, Synthetic biologyK. H. Redford, T. Brooks, M., B. W. Nicholas and J. S. A. Macfarlane, International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2019.
This assessment is the beginning of a process that will lead to the development of an IUCN policy to guide the Union’s Director General, Commissions, and Members. The draft policy will be discussed in many fora before it is brought to vote at the World Conservation Congress in ...
Rodent gene drives for conservation: opportunities and data needs
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsJ. Godwin, M. Serr, K. Barnhill-Dilling, D. V. Blondel, P. R. Brown, K. Campbell, J. Delborne, A. L. Lloyd, K. P. Oh, T. A. A. Prowse, R. Saah and P. Thomas, Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 286:20191606. 2019.
Invasive rodents impact biodiversity, human health and food security worldwide. The biodiversity impacts are particularly significant on islands, which are the primary sites of vertebrate extinctions and where we are reaching the limits of current control technologies. Gene ...
Gene Drive and Thinking Animals
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsIsland Conservation, 2019.
Royden Saah, Island Conservation's GBIRd program manager, recently spoke at the Thinking Animals Summit alongside Leilani Münter, a former professional race car driver and environmental activist. The Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents partnership (GBIRd) is designed for ...
Herbicide resistant weeds: A call to integrate conventional agricultural practices, molecular biology knowledge and new technologies
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineeringV. E. Perotti, A. S. Larran, V. E. Palmieri, A. K. Martinatto and H. R. Permingeat, Plant Science, 290:110255. 2019.
Herbicide resistant (HR) weeds are of major concern in modern agriculture. This situation is exacerbated by the massive adoption of herbicide-based technologies along with the overuse of a few active ingredients to control weeds over vast areas year after year. Also, many other ...
How gene drives could transform pest control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Other mammalsTEDx Youth, 2019.
In New Zealand, 25 million native birds are killed each year by introduced predators. New Zealand has an ambitious goal to be predator free by the year 2050; however, current pest control methods will not achieve this goal. In this thought-provoking and compelling talk, ...
The potential of genomics for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive syntheticM. F. Breed, P. A. Harrison, C. Blyth, M. Byrne, V. Gaget, N. J. C. Gellie, S. V. C. Groom, R. Hodgson, J. G. Mills, T. A. A. Prowse, D. A. Steane and J. J. Mohr, Nature Reviews Genetics, 20:615-628. 2019.
Existing and emerging genomics tools offer the potential to improve the odds of achieving these targets. These tools include population genomics that can improve seed sourcing, meta-omics that can improve assessment and monitoring of restoration outcomes, and genome editing that ...
Self-destructing mosquitoes and sterilized rodents: the promise of gene drives
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, RodentsM. Scudellari, Nature, 571:160-162. 2019.
Altering the genomes of entire animal populations could help to defeat disease and control pests, but researchers worry about the consequences of unleashing this new technology.
Synthetic Biology and the United Nations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Synthetic biologyH.-E. Lai, C. Canavan, L. Cameron, S. Moore, M. Danchenko, T. Kuiken, Z. Sekeyová and P. S. Freemont, Trends in Biotechnology, 37:1146-1151. 2019.
Synthetic biology is a rapidly emerging interdisciplinary field of science and engineering that aims to redesign living systems through reprogramming genetic information. The field has catalysed global debate among policymakers and publics. Here we describe how synthetic biology ...
Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Development of a Gene Drive Mouse for Biodiversity Protection on Islands: Workshop Report
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Rodents, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionM. Farooque, S. K. Barnhill-Dilling, J. Shapiro and J. Delborne, North Carolina State University, 2019.
The “Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Development of a Gene Drive Mouse for Biodiversity Protection” workshop was held on the North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh, NC on March 7-8, 2019, aiming to convene a diverse group of stakeholders, scientists, ...
Gene drives and the international biodiversity regime
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Policy, RegulationF. Rabitz, Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law, 2019.
Gene drives are genetic modifications designed for rapidly diffusing traits throughout a target population. They are currently being proposed as biological control agents to combat, for instance, invasive alien species and disease vectors. They also raise concerns regarding their ...
Genetic pest management technologies to control invasive rodents
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Culex, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Pest management, Rodents, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionD. Kanavy and D. Threadgill, Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge, 2019.
Many strategies exist to manage invasive pests on islands, ranging from poison to trapping, with varying degrees of success. Genetic technologies are increasingly being applied to insect pests, but so far, not to vertebrates. We are implementing a genetic strategy to eradicate ...
Trialling gene drives to control invasive species: what, where and how?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Culex, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Pest management, RodentsT. Harvey-Samuel, K. J. Campbell, M. Edgington and L. Alphey, Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge, 2019.
The control of invasive species would be enhanced through the addition of novel, more effective and sustainable pest management methods. One control option yet to be trialled in the field is to deploy transgene-based ‘Gene Drives’: technologies which force the inheritance of ...
Towards a genetic approach to invasive rodent eradications: assessing reproductive competitiveness between wild and laboratory mice
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Pest management, RodentsM. Serr, N. Heard and J. Godwin, Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge, 2019.
House mice are significant invasive pests, particularly on islands without native mammalian predators. As part of a multi-institutional project aimed at suppressing invasive mouse populations on islands, we aim to create heavily male-biased sex ratios with the goal of causing the ...
A potential new tool for the toolbox: assessing gene drives for eradicating invasive rodent populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Pest management, Risk assessment, Rodents, Stakeholder engagementK. J. Campbell, J. R. Saah, P. R. Brown, J. Godwin, F. Gould, G. R. Howald, A. Piaggio, P. Thomas, D. M. Tompkins, D. Threadgill, J. Delborne, D. Kanavy, T. Kuiken, H. Packard, M. Serr and A. Shiels, Island invasives: scaling up to meet the challenge, 2019.
Invasive rodents have significant negative impacts on island biodiversity. All but the smallest of rodent eradications currently rely on island-wide rodenticide applications. Although signifi cant advances have been made in mitigating unintended impacts, rodent eradication on ...
Super-Mendelian inheritance mediated by CRISPR-Cas9 in the female mouse germline
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Other mammals, Replicator/site directed nuclease, RodentsGrunwald, HAG, V. M.; Poplawski, G.; Xu, X. R. S.; Bier, E.; Cooper, K. L., Nature, 566:105-109. 2019.
A gene drive biases the transmission of one of the two copies of a gene such that it is inherited more frequently than by random segregation. Highly efficient gene drive systems have recently been developed in insects, which leverage the sequence-targeted DNA cleavage activity of ...
Stakeholder attitudes towards the use of recombinant technology to manage the impact of an invasive species: Sea Lamprey in the North American Great Lakes
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive syntheticThresher, REJ, M.; Drake, D. A. R., Biological Invasions, 21:575-586. 2019.
Several factors, including: (1) on-going difficulties of cost-effectively managing invasive species; (2) recent successes in using recombinant genetics to suppress mosquito populations; and, (3) developments in gene-drive technology, have re-invigorated interest in using genetic ...
Conserving New Zealand’s native fauna: a review of tools being developed for the Predator Free 2050 programme
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive syntheticMurphy, ECR, J. C.; Broome, K. G.; Ryan, G. J.; Dowding, J. E., Journal of Ornithology, 160:883-892. 2019.
The endemic fauna of New Zealand evolved in the absence of mammalian predators and the introduction of the latter has been devastating. There have been numerous avian extinctions and 80% of the extant native avian taxa are currently threatened or at risk of extinction. Declines ...
Sustainability as a framework for considering gene drive mice for invasive rodent eradication
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Governance, Pest management, RodentsBarnhill-Dilling, SKS, M.; Blondel, D. V.; Godwin, J., Sustainability, 11:1334. 2019.
Gene drives represent a dynamic and controversial set of technologies with applications that range from mosquito control to the conservation of biological diversity on islands. Currently, gene drives are being developed in mice that may one day serve as an important tool for ...
Biocontrol in Australia: Can a carp herpesvirus (CyHV-3) deliver safe and effective ecological restoration?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Fish, Gene drive syntheticKopf, RKB, M.; Finlayson, C. M.; Hodges, K.; Humphries, P.; King, A.; Kingsford, R. T.; Marshall, J.; McGinness, H. M.; Thresher, R.; Vanderplasschen, A., Biological Invasions, 21:1857-1870. 2019.
The Australian Government is considering Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) for biocontrol of invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). We review the evidence-base for its potential ecological risks, benefits and effectiveness. Lower carp abundance may boost native fish biomass and ...
CRISPR Gene Drive (Complete guide 2019)
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Other mammals, RodentsEvery Cell A Universe, 2018.
Crispr gene drive - malaria cure and a new way to look at conservation.
EU Adopts Negotiating Position for 2018 Biodiversity Conference
Tags: Biodiversity/ConservationTsioumani, E, International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018.
The Council of the EU calls for increased efforts to fully achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and for the adoption of an ambitious follow-up to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, to strengthen implementation of the CBD and its Protocols, as well as of other ...
Yes we can! Exciting progress and prospects for controlling invasives on islands and beyond
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Biological control, Gene drive synthetic, Pest managementD. Simberloff, B. Keitt, D. Will, N. Holmes, E. Pickett and P. Genovesi, Western North American Naturalist, 78:942-958. 2018.
Eradication and maintenance management of island invasive species have long histories, and incremental improvements of existing technologies plus occasional novel approaches have led to more challenging targets and increased success rates in certain categories. Many nonnative ...
A sustainable synthetic biology approach for the control of the invasive golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei)
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive speciesM. F. Rebelo, L. F. Afonso, J. A. Americo, L. da Silva, J. L. B. Neto, F. Dondero and Q. Zhang, PeerJ Preprints, 6:e27164v3. 2018.
The recent development of the CRISPR-Cas9-based gene drive has created the conditions to seriously consider this technology to solve one of the major environmental challenges in biodiversity conservation i.e. the control of invasive species. There is no efficient control method ...
Gene drive technology considered in the fight to save native animals from feral cats
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Other mammalsSmail, S, ABC News Online, 2018.
Feral cats kill thousands of native animals every minute — now a controversial plan to use gene drive technology as a weapon against them is being considered by the Federal Government
Summary
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Risk and safety, Risk assessment, Stakeholder engagementCommittee on Gene Drive Research in Non-Human Organisms: Recommendations for Responsible, Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5:S243-S254. 2018.
Scientists have studied gene drives for more than 50 years. The development of a powerful genome editing tool in 2012, CRISPR/Cas9,1 led to recent breakthroughs in gene drive research that built on that half century’s worth of knowledge, and stimulated new discussion of the ...
Developing gene drive technologies to eradicate invasive rodents from islands
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Rodents, Transmission distortionC. M. Leitschuh, D. Kanavy, G. A. Backus, R. X. Valdez, M. Serr, E. A. Pitts, D. Threadgill and J. Godwin, Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5:S121-S138. 2018.
Gene drive methods of rodent eradication offer an alternative to killing that has the potential to be more species-specific, more humane, and more biologically safe for use around humans. Implementing this technology would involve releasing laboratory-developed engineered mice ...
Evaluating active genetic options for the control of Sea Lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Fish, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive syntheticThresher, REJ, Michael; Drake, D. Andrew, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 76:1186-1202. 2018.
For more than two decades the Great Lakes Fishery Commission has sought tactics to complement, and potentially replace, the use of barriers and lampricides to control Sea Lamprey in the Great Lakes, but thus far without success. This paper examines the potential of modern genetic ...
Economic issues to consider for gene drives
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, MalariaMitchell, PDB, Z.; McRoberts, N., Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5:S180-S202. 2018.
We examine four economic issues regarding gene drive applications made possible by gene editing technologies. First, whether gene drives are self-sustaining or self-limiting will largely determine which types of organizations have incentives to develop and deploy gene drives and ...
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 Drives Can Wipe Out Entire Species… Or Save Them
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyGizmodo, 2017.
Bill Gates and other investors have poured millions into gene drives. So what is the technology and why are scientists worried about it?
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 ...
Could genetic engineering save the Galapagos?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, RodentsS. S. Hall, Scientific American, 2017.
Campbell has been working on eradications in the Galápagos since 1997, including a 2006 campaign to remove all the feral goats and donkeys from Floreana. A decade later he’s a project manager with Island Conservation, and the most ambitious project on its agenda is once again ...
CRISPR’s Gene Drive Could Revive Extinct Species–or Create New Ones | Jennifer Doudna
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyJennifer Doudna, Big Think, 2017.
A leading gene editing scientist, Jennifer Doudna, discusses gene drive and their applications as well as de-extinction technologies.
How Genetically Modified Mice Could One Day Save Island Birds
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Birds, Gene drive, RodentsBorel, B, Audubon, 2017.
The silent black-and-white footage opens on a seemingly tranquil setting: a burrow where an Atlantic Petrel tends to its chick. Then mice begin scurrying in and out of frame. The dark blurs jostle the adult, darting up to the exposed chick and tearing off bloody bites. They’re ...
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.
Is it time for synthetic biodiversity conservation?
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetics, MalariaPiaggio, AJS, G.; Seddon, P. J.; Alphey, L.; Bennett, E. L.; Carlson, R. H.; Friedman, R. M.; Kanavy, D.; Phelan, R.; Redford, K. H.; Rosales, M.; Slobodian, L.; Wheeler, K., Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 32:97-107. 2017.
Evidence indicates that, despite some critical successes, current conservation approaches are not slowing the overall rate of biodiversity loss. The field of synthetic biology, which is capable of altering natural genomes with extremely precise editing, might offer the potential ...
A bigger toolbox: Biotechnology in biodiversity conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, GenomicsR. T. Corlett, Trends in Biotechnology, 35:55-65. 2017.
Conservation biology needs a bigger toolbox to meet unprecedented challenges. Genomics, fueled by declining sequencing costs, offers novel tools with increased precision for genetic questions previously answered with a few molecular markers, as well as completely new ...
Guidance on risk assessment of living modified organisms and monitoring in the context of risk assessment
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessment, Synthetic biologyAd Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Risk Assessment and Risk Management,, Convention on Biological Diversity, 2016.
This document was developed by the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Risk Assessment and Risk Management, with input from the Open-ended Online Expert Forum, in accordance with terms of reference set out by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the ...
Re-Coding for Conservation
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Birds, Gene drive, RodentsHawkes, A, Bay Nature Magazine, 2016.
very year, as summer turns to fall, the mouse population on the South Farallon Islands explodes to plague-like densities, numbering 490 mice per acre, among the highest found on any island in the world. The scientists who live and work there describe the assault of the invasive ...
Opinion: Is CRISPR-based gene drive a biocontrol silver bullet or global conservation threat?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Risk and safetyWebber, BLR, S.; Edwards, O. R., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112:10565-10567. 2015.
Scientists have recognized the potential for applying gene drive technologies to the control of invasive species for several years, yet debate about the application of gene drive has been primarily restricted to mosquitoes. Recent developments in clustered regularly interspaced ...
Genetic control of invasive fish: technological options and its role in integrated pest management
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Biological control, Fish, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Sex distorter, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Thresher, REH, K.; Bax, N. J.; Teem, J.; Benfey, T. J.; Gould, F., Biological Invasions, 16:1201-1216. 2014.
Genetic options for the control of invasive fishes were recently reviewed and synthesized at a 2010 international symposium, held in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, USA. The only option currently available "off-the-shelf'' is triploidy, which can be used to produce sterile males for a ...
