Keywords: gene drive models

Evading evolution of resistance to gene drives

R. Gomulkiewicz, M. L. Thies and J. J. Bull,  bioRxiv,  2020.08.27.270611. 2020.
Our analyses suggest that among gene drives that cause moderate suppression, toxin-antidote systems are less apt to select for resistance than homing drives. Single drives of this type would achieve only partial population suppression, but multiple drives (perhaps delivered ...
Keywords: , ,

Embracing Dynamic Models for Gene Drive Management

A. J. Golnar, E. Ruell, A. L. Lloyd and K. M. Pepin,  Trends in Biotechnology,  2020.
We describe how quantitative tools can reduce risk uncertainty, streamline empirical research, guide risk management, and promote cross-sector collaboration throughout the process of gene drive technology development and implementation.
Keywords: , ,

Gene Drive Dynamics in Natural Populations: The Importance of Density Dependence, Space, and Sex

S. Dhole, A. L. Lloyd and F. Gould,  Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics,  51:505-531. 2020.
The spread of synthetic gene drives is often discussed in the context of panmictic populations connected by gene flow and described with simple deterministic models. Under such assumptions, an entire species could be altered by releasing a single individual carrying an invasive ...
Keywords: , ,

Evading evolution of resistance to gene drives

R. Gomulkiewicz, M. L. Thies and J. J. Bull,  bioRxiv,  2020.
Here we develop mathematical and computational models to identify conditions under which suppression drives will evade resistance, even if resistance is present initially.
Keywords: , ,

Can a population targeted by a CRISPR-based homing gene drive be rescued?

N. O. Rode, V. Courtier-Orgogozo and F. Débarre,  G3-Genes Genomes Genetics,  2020.
N. O. Rode, V. Courtier-Orgogozo and F. Débarre (2020). G3 doi: 10.1534/g3.120.401484 Developing countermeasures is important to control the spread of gene drives, should they result in unanticipated damages. One proposed countermeasure is the introduction of individuals ...
Keywords: , ,

The potential for a CRISPR gene drive to eradicate or suppress globally invasive social wasps

P. J. Lester, M. Bulgarella, J. W. Baty, P. K. Dearden, J. Guhlin and J. M. Kean,  Scientific Reports,  10:12398. 2020.
P. J. Lester, M. Bulgarella, J. W. Baty, P. K. Dearden, J. Guhlin and J. M. Kean (2020). Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69259-6 Gene drives have potential for widespread and cost-efficient pest control, but are highly controversial. We examined a potential gene ...
Keywords: , ,

Can CRISPR gene drive work in pest and beneficial haplodiploid species?

J. Li, O. Aidlin Harari, A.-L. Doss, L. L. Walling, P. W. Atkinson, S. Morin and B. E. Tabashnik,  Evolutionary Applications,  2020.
Gene drives based on CRISPR/Cas9 have the potential to reduce the enormous harm inflicted by crop pests and insect vectors of human disease, as well as to bolster valued species. In contrast with extensive empirical and theoretical studies in diploid organisms, little is known ...
Keywords: , ,

Simulation models from: Can CRISPER-mediated gene drive work in pest and beneficial haplodiploid species?

J. Li and B. Tabashnik,  Dryad,  2020.
Gene drives based on CRISPR/Cas9 have the potential to reduce the enormous harm inflicted by crop pests and insect vectors of human disease, as well as to bolster valued species. In contrast with extensive empirical and theoretical studies in diploid organisms, little is known ...
Keywords: , ,

Modeling confinement and reversibility of threshold-dependent gene drive systems in spatially-explicit Aedes aegypti populations

H. M. Sánchez C, J. B. Bennett, S. L. Wu, G. Rašić, O. S. Akbari and J. M. Marshall,  BMC Biology,  18:50. 2020.
Here, we model hypothetical releases of two recently engineered threshold-dependent gene drive systems—reciprocal chromosomal translocations and a form of toxin-antidote-based underdominance known as UDMEL—to explore their ability to be confined and remediated.
Keywords: , ,

Gene drive dynamics in natural populations: The importance of density-dependence, space and sex

S. Dhole, A. L. Lloyd and F. Gould,  arXiv,  arXiv:2005.01838. 2020.
Here we review how different forms of density-dependence, spatial heterogeneity and mating behaviors can impact the spread of self-sustaining gene drives. We highlight specific aspects of gene drive dynamics and the target populations that need further research.
Keywords: , ,

Model Concepts for Gene Drive Dynamics

Johnannes L. Frieß, Merle Preu and Broder Breckling,  Gene Drives at Tipping Points,  2020.
The GeneTip project works on the conception and design modeling of population dynamics influenced by gene drives. In this pursuit, multiple different approaches and concepts have been developed to on one hand, be able to cover a broad perspective on the topic but on the other ...
Keywords: , ,

Case Study 1: Olive Fruit Fly (Bactrocera oleae)

Merle Preu, Johannes L. Frieß, Broder Breckling and Winfried Schröder,  Gene Drives at Tipping Points,  2020.
The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae is a phytophagous insect associated to olive trees (Olea europaea, Oleaceae). Its larvae monophagously feed on olive fruits, the fly is therefore considered the most severe pest of olive cultivation causing tremendous economic losses. The ...
Keywords: , ,

Can a population targeted by a CRISPR-based homing gene drive be rescued?

N. O. Rode, V. Courtier-Orgogozo and F. Débarre,  bioRxiv,  2020.03.17.995829. 2020.
CRISPR-based homing gene drive is a genetic control technique aiming to modify or eradicate natural populations through the release of individuals carrying an engineered piece of DNA that can be inherited by all their progeny. Developing countermeasures is important to control ...
Keywords: , ,

Computational and experimental performance of CRISPR homing gene drive strategies with multiplexed gRNAs

S. E. Champer, S. Y. Oh, C. Liu, Z. Wen, A. G. Clark, P. W. Messer and J. Champer,  Science Advances,  6:eaaz0525. 2020.
The rapid evolution of resistance alleles poses a major obstacle for genetic manipulation of populations with CRISPR homing gene drives. One proposed solution is using multiple guide RNAs (gRNAs), allowing a drive to function even if some resistant target sites are present. Here, ...
Keywords: , ,

Population-level multiplexing: A promising strategy to manage the evolution of resistance against gene drives targeting a neutral locus

M. P. Edgington, T. Harvey-Samuel and L. Alphey,  Evolutionary Applications,  10. 2020.
CRISPR-based gene drives bias inheritance in their favour by inducing double-stranded breaks (DSBs) at wild-type homologous loci and using the drive transgene as a repair template-converting drive heterozygotes into homozygotes. Recent studies have shown that alternate ...
Keywords: , ,

A unifying approach to gene drive

P. Verma, R. Reeves and C. S. Gokhale,  bioRxiv,  2020.02.28.970103. 2020.
Synthetic gene drive technologies aim to spread transgenic constructs into wild populations even when they impose organismal fitness disadvantages. The properties of gene drive constructs are diverse and depend on their molecular construction, and differential selection pressure ...
Keywords: , ,

Modeling the impacts of a simple meiotic gene drive on small, homeostatic populations

K. R. Pilkiewicz and M. L. Mayo,  Physical Review E,  101:11. 2020.
Gene drives offer unprecedented control over the fate of natural ecosystems by leveraging non-Mendelian inheritance mechanisms to proliferate synthetic genes across wild populations. However, these benefits are offset by a need to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of ...
Keywords: , ,

Vector genetics, insecticide resistance and gene drives: an agent-based modeling approach to evaluate malaria transmission and elimination

P. Selvaraj, E. A. Wenger, D. Bridenbecker, N. Windbichler, J. R. Russell, J. Gerardin, C. A. Bever and M. Nikolov,  bioRxiv,  2020.01.27.920421. 2020.
Vector control has been a key component in the fight against malaria for decades, and chemical insecticides are critical to the success of vector control programs worldwide. However, increasing resistance to insecticides threatens to undermine these efforts. Understanding the ...
Keywords: , ,

A transcomplementing gene drive provides a flexible platform for laboratory investigation and potential field deployment

V. López Del Amo, A. L. Bishop, H. M. Sánchez C, J. B. Bennett, X. Feng, J. M. Marshall, E. Bier and V. M. Gantz,  Nature Communications,  11:352. 2020.
CRISPR-based gene drives can spread through wild populations by biasing their own transmission above the 50% value predicted by Mendelian inheritance. These technologies offer population-engineering solutions for combating vector-borne diseases, managing crop pests, and ...
Keywords: , ,

Mathematical modeling of self-contained CRISPR gene drive reversal systems

M. G. Heffel and G. C. Finnigan,  Scientific Reports,  9:20050. 2019.
There is a critical need for further research into methods to control biological populations. Numerous challenges to agriculture, ecological systems, and human health could be mitigated by the targeted reduction and management of key species (e.g. pests, parasites, and vectors ...
Keywords: , ,

The potential for a released autosomal X-shredder becoming a driving-Y chromosome and invasively suppressing wild populations of malaria mosquitoes

Alcalay, Y., S. Fuchs, R. Galizi, F. Bernardini, R. E. Haghighat-Khah, D. B. Rusch, J. R. Adrion, M. W. Hahn, P. Tortosa and P. A. Papathanos,  bioRxiv,  2019:860551. 2019.
Synthetic sex-ratio distorters based on X-chromosome shredding are predicted to be more efficient than sterile males for population suppression of malaria mosquitoes using genetic control. X chromosome shredding operates through the targeted elimination of X-chromosome-bearing ...
Keywords: , ,

Design and analysis of CRISPR-based underdominance toxin-antidote gene drives

Champer, J., S. E. Champer, I. Kim, A. G. Clark and P. W. Messer,  bioRxiv,  861435:861435. 2019.
CRISPR gene drive systems offer a mechanism for transmitting a desirable transgene throughout a population for purposes ranging from vector-borne disease control to invasive species suppression. In this simulation study, we model and assess the performance of several CRISPR-based ...
Keywords: , ,

Fitness consequences of the selfish supergene Segregation Distorter

H. W. S. Wong and L. Holman,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  33:89-100. 2019.
Segregation distorters are selfish genetic elements that subvert Mendelian inheritance, often by destroying gametes that do not carry the distorter. Simple theoretical models predict that distorter alleles will either spread to fixation or stabilize at some high intermediate ...
Keywords: , ,

Evolutionary simulations of Z-linked suppression gene drives

L. Holman,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:1-9. 2019.
Synthetic gene drives may soon be used to suppress or eliminate populations of disease vectors, pathogens, invasive species, and agricultural pests. Recent proposals have focused on using Z-linked gene drives to control species with ZW sex determination, which include ...
Keywords: , ,

Threshold-Dependent Gene Drives in Wild Populations – A Podcast

G. A. Backus and J. A. Delborne,  BioScience Talks,  2019.
By altering the heritability of certain traits, gene drive technologies have the potential to spread desired genes through wild populations. In practice, this could lead to mosquito populations that, for example, bear traits making them resistant to the spread of malaria. Despite ...
Keywords: , ,

Threshold-Dependent Gene Drives in the Wild: Spread, Controllability, and Ecological Uncertainty

G. A. Backus and J. A. Delborne,  BioScience,  69:900-907. 2019.
Gene drive technology could allow the intentional spread of a desired gene throughout an entire wild population in relatively few generations. However, there are major concerns that gene drives could either fail to spread or spread without restraint beyond the targeted ...
Keywords: , ,

MGDrivE: A modular simulation framework for the spread of gene drives through spatially-explicit mosquito populations

Sánchez C, HMW, Sean L.; Bennett, Jared B.; Marshall, John M.,  Methods in Ecology and Evolution,  10:1-24. 2019.
Malaria, dengue, Zika, and other mosquito-borne diseases continue to pose a major global health burden through much of the world, despite the widespread distribution of insecticide-based tools and antimalarial drugs. The advent of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing and its ...
Keywords: , ,

Population management using gene drive: molecular design, models ofspread dynamics and assessment of ecological risks

Rode, NOE, A.; Bourguet, D.; Courtier-Orgogozo, V.; Debarre, F.,  Conservation Genetics,  20:671-690. 2019.
CRISPR gene drive has recently been proposed as a promising technology for population management, including in conservation genetics. The technique would consist in releasing genetically engineered individuals that are designed to rapidly propagate a desired mutation or transgene ...
Keywords: , ,

A Y-chromosome shredding gene drive for controlling pest vertebrate populations

Prowse, TAAA, F.; Cassey, P.; Thomas, P.; Ross, J. V.,  eLife,  8:19. 2019.
Self-replicating gene drives that modify sex ratios or infer a fitness cost could be used to control populations of invasive alien species. The targeted deletion of Y sex chromosomes using CRISPR technology offers a new approach for sex bias that could be incorporated within ...
Keywords: , ,

Predicting the spatial dynamics of Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti arbovirus vector populations in heterogeneous landscapes

Hancock, PAR, S. A.; Koenraadt, C. J. M.; Scott, T. W.; Hoffmann, A. A.; Godfray, H. C. J.,  Journal of Applied Ecology,  56:1674-1686. 2019.
A promising strategy for reducing the transmission of dengue and other arboviral human diseases by Aedes aegypti mosquito vector populations involves field introductions of the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia. Wolbachia infections inhibit viral transmission by the mosquito, and ...
Keywords: , ,

Spatial structure undermines parasite suppression by gene drive cargo

Bull, JJR, Christopher H.; Gomulkiewicz, Richard; Krone, Stephen M.,  PeerJ,  7:e7921. 2019.
Gene drives may be used in two ways to curtail vectored diseases. Both involve engineering the drive to spread in the vector population. One approach uses the drive to directly depress vector numbers, possibly to extinction. The other approach leaves intact the vector population ...
Keywords: , ,

Modelling the potential of genetic control of malaria mosquitoes at national scale

North, ARB, Austin; Godfray, H. Charles J.,  BMC Biology,  17:26. 2019.
The persistence of malaria in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa has motivated the development of novel tools to complement existing control programmes, including gene-drive technologies to modify mosquito vector populations. Here, we use a stochastic simulation model to explore ...
Keywords: , ,

Daisy-chain gene drives for the alteration of local populations

Noble, CM, J.; Olejarz, J.; Buchthal, J.; Chavez, A.; Smidler, A. L.; DeBenedictis, E. A.; Church, G. M.; Nowak, M. A.; Esvelt, K. M.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  116:8275-8282. 2019.
If they are able to spread in wild populations, CRISPR-based gene-drive elements would provide new ways to address ecological problems by altering the traits of wild organisms, but the potential for uncontrolled spread tremendously complicates ethical development and use. Here, ...
Keywords: , ,

Integral gene drives for population replacement

Nash, AU, Giulia Mignini; Beaghton, Andrea K.; Hoermann, Astrid; Papathanos, Philippos Aris; Christophides, George K.; Windbichler, Nikolai,  Biology Open,  8:bio037762. 2019.
A first generation of CRISPR-based gene drives has now been tested in the laboratory in a number of organisms, including malaria vector mosquitoes. Challenges for their use in the area-wide genetic control of vector-borne disease have been identified, including the development of ...
Keywords: , ,

Large-cage assessment of a transgenic sex-ratio distortion strain on populations of an African malaria vector

Facchinelli, LN, A.; Collins, C.; Menichelli, M.; Persampieri, T.; Bucci, A.; Spaccapelo, R.; Crisanti, A.; Benedict, M.,  Parasites & Vectors,  12:70. 2019.
Novel transgenic mosquito control methods require progressively more realistic evaluation. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of a transgene that causes a male-bias sex ratio on Anopheles gambiae target populations in large insectary cages. Life history ...
Keywords: , ,

Modeling the mutation and reversal of engineered underdominance gene drives

Edgington, MPA, Luke S.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  479:14-21. 2019.
A range of gene drive systems have been proposed that are predicted to increase their frequency and that of associated desirable genetic material even if they confer a fitness cost on individuals carrying them. Engineered underdominance (UD) is such a system and, in one version, ...
Keywords: , ,

Gene drive for population genetic control: non-functional resistance and parental effects

Beaghton, AKH, Andrew; Nolan, Tony; Crisanti, Andrea; Burt, Austin,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  286:20191586. 2019.
Gene drive is a natural process of biased inheritance that, in principle, could be used to control pest and vector populations. As with any form of pest control, attention should be paid to the possibility of resistance evolving. For nuclease-based gene drive aimed at suppressing ...
Keywords: , ,

Locally Fixed Alleles: A method to localize gene drive to island populations

Sudweeks, JH, Brandon; Blondel, Dimitri V.; Campbell, Karl J.; Dhole, Sumit; Eisemann, John D.; Edwards, Owain; Godwin, John; Howald, Gregg R.; Oh, Kevin P.; Piaggio, Antoinette J.; Prowse, Thomas A. A.; Ross, Joshua V.; Saah, J. Royden; Shiels, Aaron B.; Thomas, Paul Q.; Threadgill, David W.; Vella, Michael R.; Gould, Fred; Lloyd, Alun L.,  Scientific Reports,  9:15821. 2019.
Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity on islands. While successes have been achieved using traditional removal methods, such as toxicants aimed at rodents, these approaches have limitations and various off-target effects on island ecosystems. Gene drive ...
Keywords: , ,

Controlling invasive rodents via synthetic gene drive and the role of polyandry

Manser, AC, S. J.; Sutter, A.; Blondel, D. V.; Serr, M.; Godwin, J.; Price, T. A. R.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:9. 2019.
House mice are a major ecosystem pest, particularly threatening island ecosystems as a non-native invasive species. Rapid advances in synthetic biology offer new avenues to control pest species for biodiversity conservation. Recently, a synthetic sperm-killing gene drive ...
Keywords: , ,

Evaluating the Probability of CRISPR-based Gene Drive Contaminating Another Species

Courtier-Orgogozo, VD, Antoine; Gouyon, Pierre-Henri; Boëte, Christophe,  bioRxiv,  776609:27. 2019.
The probability D that a given CRISPR-based gene drive element contaminates another, non-target species can be estimated by the following Drive Risk Assessment Quantitative Estimate (DRAQUE) Equation: D = (hyb+transf).express.cut.flank.immune.nonextinct withhyb = probability of ...
Keywords: , ,

Safe Driving: CRISPR and the Gene Drive Landscape

Nolan, T,  CRISPR Journal,  1:16-18. 2018.
A New Study Highlights Issues About the Capability to Limit Gene Drives in the Field to a Target Population
Keywords: , ,

Current CRISPR gene drive systems are likely to be highly invasive in wild populations

Noble, CA, Ben; Church, George M.; Esvelt, Kevin M.; Nowak, Martin A.,  eLife,  7:e33423. 2018.
Recent reports have suggested that self-propagating CRISPR-based gene drive systems are unlikely to efficiently invade wild populations due to drive-resistant alleles that prevent cutting. Here we develop mathematical models based on existing empirical data to explicitly test ...
Keywords: , ,

Population seasonality and release timing significantly affect the probability of establishment for small releases of gene drive mosquitoes

Nikolov, MO, A. L.; Beaghton, A. K.; Beaghton, P. J.; Wenger, E. A.; Burt, A.; Welkhoff, P. A.,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  99:367-367. 2018.
Highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9 gene-drive systems have recently been developed, targeting reproductive-capacity and malaria-competency loci of malaria transmitting vector species, such as An. gambiae. The resulting drive systems aim to either suppress the local wild-type population ...
Keywords: , ,

The impact of releasing sterile mosquitoes on malaria transmission

Hongyan, YC, Yang; Xin'an, Zhang; Jia, Li,  Discrete & Continuous Dynamical Systems - B,  23:3837-3853. 2018.
The sterile mosquitoes technique in which sterile mosquitoes are released to reduce or eradicate the wild mosquito population has been used in preventing the malaria transmission. To study the impact of releasing sterile mosquitoes on the malaria transmission, we first formulate ...
Keywords: , ,

Gene drive systems: Do they have a place in agricultural weed management?

Neve, P,  Pest Management Science,  74:2672-2679. 2018.
There is a pressing need for novel control techniques in agricultural weed management. Direct genetic control of agricultural pests encompasses a range of techniques to introduce and spread novel, fitness-reducing genetic modifications through pest populations. Recently, the ...
Keywords: , ,

Simulating the effects of clumped egg laying on mosquito population dynamics in relation to gene-drive interventions

Morris, ALF, N.; Ghani, A.,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  99:279-280. 2018.
Gene-drive based vector control methods are a rapidly developing tool in the fight against malaria. They utilise highly targeted insertions of genes to express specific traits, such as biases in offspring sex ratio or inhibited vector competence, which are preferentially ...
Keywords: , ,

Selfish genetic elements

Agren, JAC, A. G.,  PLOS Genetics,  14:20. 2018.
Selfish genetic elements (historically also referred to as selfish genes, ultra-selfish genes, selfish DNA, parasitic DNA, genomic outlaws) are genetic segments that can enhance their own transmission at the expense of other genes in the genome, even if this has no or a negative ...
Keywords: , ,

Population dynamics of engineered underdominance and killer-rescue gene drives in the control of disease vectors

Edgington, MPA, Luke S.,  PLOS Computational Biology,  14:e1006059. 2018.
Vector-borne diseases represent a severe burden to both human and animal health worldwide. The methods currently being used to control a range of these diseases do not appear sufficient to address the issues at hand. As such, alternate methods for the control of vector-borne ...
Keywords: , ,

Invasion and migration of spatially self-limiting gene drives: A comparative analysis

Dhole, S.; Vella, M. R; Lloyd, A. L.; Gould, F.,  Evolutionary Applications,  11:794-808. 2018.
Recent advances in research on gene drives have produced genetic constructs that could theoretically spread a desired gene (payload) into all populations of a species, with a single release in one place. This attribute has advantages, but also comes with risks and ethical ...
Keywords: , ,

Can CRISPR-based gene drive be confined in the Wild? A question for molecular and population biology

Marshall, JMA, Omar S.,  ACS Chemical Biology,  13:424-430. 2018.
The recent discovery of CRISPR and its application as a gene editing tool has enabled a range of gene drive systems to be engineered with greater ease. In order for the benefits of this technology to be realized, in some circumstances drive systems should be developed that are ...
Keywords: , ,

Population dynamics of underdominance gene drive systems in continuous space

Champer, JZ, Joanna; Champer, Sam; Liu, Jingxian; Messer, Philipp W.,  bioRxiv,  449355:1-23. 2018.
Underdominance gene drive systems promise a mechanism for rapidly spreading payload alleles through a local population while otherwise remaining confined, unable to spread into neighboring populations due to their frequency-dependent dynamics. Such systems could provide a new ...
Keywords: , ,

Recent advances in threshold-dependent gene drives for mosquitoes

Leftwich, PTE, Matthew P.; Harvey-Samuel, Tim; Carabajal Paladino, Leonela Z.; Norman, Victoria C.; Alphey, Luke,  Biochemical Society Transactions,  46:1203-1212. 2018.
Mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya, cause morbidity and mortality around the world. Recent advances in gene drives have produced control methods that could theoretically modify all populations of a disease vector, from a single release, making whole ...
Keywords: , ,

The use of driving endonuclease genes to suppress mosquito vectors of malaria in temporally variable environments

Lambert, BN, Ace; Burt, Austin; Godfray, H. Charles J.,  Malaria Journal,  17:154. 2018.
The use of gene drive systems to manipulate populations of malaria vectors is currently being investigated as a method of malaria control. One potential system uses driving endonuclease genes (DEGs) to spread genes that impose a genetic load. Previously, models have shown that ...
Keywords: , ,

Catch me if you can: A spatial model for a brake-driven gene drive reversal

Calvez, V,,Debarre, F., Girardin, Leo,  arXiv,  1812.06641:1-30. 2018.
We successfully prove that, whenever the drive fitness is at most 50% of the wild-type one while the brake fitness is close to the wild-type one, co-extinction of the brake and the drive occurs in the long run.
Keywords: , ,

Correction to ‘Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates’

Prowse, TAAC, Phillip; Ross, Joshua V.; Pfitzner, Chandran; Wittmann, Talia; Thomas, Paul,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  285:1-2. 2018.
Proc. R. Soc. B 284, 20170799. (Published Online 9 August 2017). (doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0799)We recently found an error in our calculation of the probability of a wild-type allele moving from s to j susceptible sites (), and acquiring the gene drive (), during gene-drive homing, ...
Keywords: , ,

Modelling Allee effects in a transgenic mosquito population during range expansion

Walker, MB, Julie C.; Brown, Vicki; Childs, Lauren M.,  Journal of Biological Dynamics,  13:2-22. 2018.
Mosquitoes are vectors for many diseases that cause significant mortality and morbidity. As mosquito populations expand their range, they may undergo mate-finding Allee effects such that their ability to successfully reproduce becomes difficult at low population density. With new ...
Keywords: , ,

Consequences of resistance evolution in a Cas9-based sex conversion-suppression gene drive for insect pest management

Carrami, Eli M., ME, Kolja N.; Ahmed, Hassan M. M.; Sánchez C., Héctor M.; Dippel, Stefan; Marshall, John M.; Wimmer, Ernst A.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  115:6189-6194. 2018.
Resistance evolution caused by CRISPR/Cas9 gene-drive systems has a major impact on both the future scientific design of such gene-drive systems and on the politics of regulating experimentation and use of such systems. In our study, we show that in-frame drive-resistant alleles ...
Keywords: , ,

Self-limiting population genetic control with sex-linked genome editors

Burt, AD, Anne,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  285:20180776. 2018.
In male heterogametic species the Y chromosome is transmitted solely from fathers to sons, and is selected for based only on its impacts on male fitness. This fact can be exploited to develop efficient pest control strategies that use Y-linked editors to disrupt the fitness of ...
Keywords: , ,

Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates

Prowse, TAAC, Phillip; Ross, Joshua V.; Pfitzner, Chandran; Wittmann, Talia A.; Thomas, Paul,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  284:20170799. 2017.
Self-replicating gene drives that can spread deleterious alleles through animal populations have been promoted as a much needed but controversial ‘silver bullet’ for controlling invasive alien species. Homing-based drives comprise an endonuclease and a guide RNA (gRNA) that ...
Keywords: , ,

How driving endonuclease genes can be used to combat pests and disease vectors

Godfray, HCJN, A.; Burt, A.,  BMC Biology,  15:81. 2017.
Driving endonuclease genes (DEGs) spread through a population by a non-Mendelian mechanism. In a heterozygote, the protein encoded by a DEG causes a double-strand break in the homologous chromosome opposite to where its gene is inserted and when the break is repaired using the ...
Keywords: , ,

Conditions for success of engineered underdominance gene drive systems

Edgington, MPA, L. S.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  430:128-140. 2017.
Engineered underdominance is one of a number of different gene drive strategies that have been proposed for the genetic control of insect vectors of disease. Here we model a two-locus engineered underdominance based gene drive system that is based on the concept of mutually ...
Keywords: , ,

Evolutionary dynamics of CRISPR gene drives

Noble, CO, Jason; Esvelt, Kevin M.; Church, George M.; Nowak, Martin A.,  Science Advances,  3:e1601964. 2017.
The alteration of wild populations has been discussed as a solution to a number of humanity’s most pressing ecological and public health concerns. Enabled by the recent revolution in genome editing, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) gene ...
Keywords: , ,

Impact of mosquito gene drive on malaria elimination in a computational model with explicit spatial and temporal dynamics

Eckhoff, PAW, E. A.; Godfray, H. C. J.; Burt, A.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  114:e255-e264. 2017.
The renewed effort to eliminate malaria and permanently remove its tremendous burden highlights questions of what combination of tools would be sufficient in various settings and what new tools need to be developed. Gene drive mosquitoes constitute a promising set of tools, with ...
Keywords: , ,

Gene drives do not always increase in frequency: from genetic models to risk assessment

de Jong, TJ,  Journal Fur Verbraucherschutz Und Lebensmittelsicherheit-Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety,  12:299-307. 2017.
Homing genes encode endonucleases that make a double stranded break in the DNA, destroying a target site on the homologous chromosome. When the cell repairs the break the homing allele is copied, converting a heterozygote into a homozygote. This results in gene drive (GD), an ...
Keywords: , ,

Evaluating strategies for reversing CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives

Vella, MRG, Christian E.; Lloyd, Alun L.; Gould, Fred,  Scientific Reports,  7:11038. 2017.
A gene drive biases inheritance of a gene so that it increases in frequency within a population even when the gene confers no fitness benefit. There has been renewed interest in environmental releases of engineered gene drives due to recent proof of principle experiments with the ...
Keywords: , ,

Requirements for Driving Antipathogen Effector Genes into Populations of Disease Vectors by Homing

Beaghton, AH, Andrew; Nolan, Tony; Crisanti, Andrea; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Burt, Austin,  Genetics,  205:1587-1596. 2017.
There is a need for new interventions against the ongoing burden of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. One suggestion has been to develop genes encoding effector molecules that block parasite development within the vector, and then use the nuclease-based homing ...
Keywords: , ,

Evolution of Resistance Against CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Drive

Unckless, RLC, A. G.; Messer, P. W.,  Genetics,  205:827-841. 2017.
CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive (CGD) promises to be a highly adaptable approach for spreading genetically engineered alleles throughout a species, even if those alleles impair reproductive success. CGD has been shown to be effective in laboratory crosses of insects, yet it remains ...
Keywords: , ,

Vector control with driving Y chromosomes: modelling the evolution of resistance

Beaghton, AB, P. J.; Burt, A.,  Malaria Journal,  16:286. 2017.
: The introduction of new malaria control interventions has often led to the evolution of resistance, both of the parasite to new drugs and of the mosquito vector to new insecticides, compromising the efficacy of the interventions. Recent progress in molecular and population ...
Keywords: , ,

Spatial gene drives and pushed genetic waves

Tanaka, HS, Howard A.; Nelson, David R.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  114:8452. 2017.
Gene constructs introduced into natural environments have been proposed to solve various ecological problems. The CRISPR-Cas9 technology greatly facilitates construction of gene drives that allow desired traits to rapidly replace wild types, even if these convey a selective ...
Keywords: , ,

Potential of gene drives with genome editing to increase genetic gain in livestock breeding programs

Gonen, SJ, J.; Gorjanc, G.; Mileham, A. J.; Whitelaw, C. B. A.; Hickey, J. M.,  Genetics Selection Evolution,  49:14. 2017.
This paper uses simulation to explore how gene drives can increase genetic gain in livestock breeding programs. Gene drives are naturally occurring phenomena that cause a mutation on one chromosome to copy itself onto its homologous chromosome. Methods: We simulated nine ...
Keywords: , ,

Gene drive through a landscape: Reaction-diffusion models of population suppression and elimination by a sex ratio distorter

Beaghton, AB, P. J.; Burt, A.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  108:51-69. 2016.
Some genes or gene complexes are transmitted from parents to offsprihg at a greater-than-Mendelian rate, and can spread and persist in populations even if they cause some harm to the individuals carrying them. Such genes may be useful for controlling populations or species that ...
Keywords: , ,

Random and non-random mating populations: Evolutionary dynamics in meiotic drive

Sarkar, B,  Mathematical Biosciences,  271:29-41. 2016.
Game theoretic tools are utilized to analyze a one-locus continuous selection model of sex-specific meiotic drive by considering nonequivalence of the viabilities of reciprocal heterozygotes that might be noticed at an imprinted locus. The model draws attention to the role of ...
Keywords: , ,

Genetic engineering to eradicate invasive mice on islands: modeling the efficiency and ecological impacts

Backus, GAG, K.,  Ecosphere,  7:e01589. 2016.
Invasive rodents are usually eradicated from islands through the application of chemical toxicants that can harm surrounding ecosystems. A recently proposed alternative involves engineering a house mouse (Mus musculus) to carry a genetic construct that would cause a majority of ...
Keywords: , ,

Stability of underdominant genetic polymorphisms in population networks

Laruson, AJR, F. A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  390:156-163. 2016.
Heterozygote disadvantage is potentially a potent driver of population genetic divergence. Also referred to as underdominance, this phenomena describes a situation where a genetic heterozygote has a lower overall fitness than either homozygote. Attention so far has mostly been ...
Keywords: , ,

Coevolutionary dynamics of polyandry and sex-linked meiotic drive

Holman, LP, T. A. R.; Wedell, N.; Kokko, H.,  Evolution,  69:709-720. 2015.
Segregation distorters located on sex chromosomes are predicted to sweep to fixation and cause extinction via a shortage of one sex, but in nature they are often found at low, stable frequencies. One potential resolution to this longstanding puzzle involves female multiple mating ...
Keywords: , ,

Centromere-associated meiotic drive and female fitness variation in Mimulus

Fishman, LK, J. K.,  Evolution,  69:1208-1218. 2015.
Female meiotic drive, in which chromosomal variants preferentially segregate to the egg pole during asymmetric female meiosis, is a theoretically pervasive but still mysterious form of selfish evolution. Like other selfish genetic elements, driving chromosomes may be maintained ...
Keywords: , ,

Modeling the manipulation of natural populations by the mutagenic chain reaction

Unckless, RLM, P. W.; Connallon, T.; Clark, A. G.,  Genetics,  201:425-431. 2015.
The use of recombinant genetic technologies for population manipulation has mostly remained an abstract idea due to the lack of a suitable means to drive novel gene constructs to high frequency in populations. Recently Gantz and Bier showed that the use of CRISPR/Cas9 technology ...
Keywords: , ,

On the origin of sex chromosomes from meiotic drive

Ubeda, FP, M. M.; Wild, G.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  282:20141932. 2015.
Most animals and many plants make use of specialized chromosomes (sex chromosomes) to determine an individual's sex. Best known are the XY and ZW sex-determination systems. Despite having evolved numerous times, sex chromosomes present something of an evolutionary puzzle. At ...
Keywords: , ,

Dynamics of a combined medea-underdominant population transformation system

Gokhale, CSR, R. G.; Reed, F. A.,  BMC Evolutionary Biology,  14:98. 2014.
: Transgenic constructs intended to be stably established at high frequencies in wild populations have been demonstrated to "drive" from low frequencies in experimental insect populations. Linking such population transformation constructs to genes which render them unable to ...
Keywords: , ,

Sex-ratio meiotic drive and interspecific competition

Unckless, RLC, A. G.,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  27:1513-1521. 2014.
It has long been known that processes occurring within a species may impact the interactions between species. For example, as competitive ability is sensitive to parameters including reproductive rate, carrying capacity and competition efficiency, the outcome of interspecific ...
Keywords: , ,

Meiotic drive influences the outcome of sexually antagonistic selection at a linked locus

Patten, MM,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  27:2360-2370. 2014.
Most meiotic drivers, such as the t-haplotype in Mus and the segregation distorter (SD) in Drosophila, act in a sex-specific manner, gaining a transmission advantage through one sex although suffering only the fitness costs associated with the driver in the other. Their ...
Keywords: , ,

Feasible introgression of an anti-pathogen transgene into an urban mosquito population without using gene-drive

Okamoto, KWR, M. A.; Gould, F.; Lloyd, A. L.,  PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  8:e2827. 2014.
Introgressing anti-pathogen constructs into wild vector populations could reduce disease transmission. It is generally assumed that such introgression would require linking an anti-pathogen gene with a selfish genetic element or similar technologies. Yet none of the proposed ...
Keywords: , ,

Medusa: A novel gene drive system for confined suppression of insect populations

Marshall, JMH, B. A.,  PLOS One,  9:e102694. 2014.
Gene drive systems provide novel opportunities for insect population suppression by driving genes that confer a fitness cost into pest or disease vector populations; however regulatory issues arise when genes are capable of spreading across international borders. Gene drive ...
Keywords: , ,

The Trojan female technique: a novel, effective and humane approach for pest population control

N. J. Gemmell, A. Jalilzadeh, R. K. Didham, T. Soboleva and D. M. Tompkins,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  280:20132549. 2013.
We use mathematical models to test a new twist on the SMT, using maternally inherited mitochondrial (mtDNA) mutations that affect male, but not female reproductive fitness. ‘Trojan females’ carrying suchmutations, and their female descendants, produce ...
Keywords: , ,

Engineering synthetic medea-based and threshold- dependent underdominance-based gene drive systems in mosquitoes

Akbari, OM, J.; Antoshechkin, I.; Matzen, K.; Papathanos, P.; Kennedy, K.; Ward, C.; Chen, C. H.; Guo, M.; Hay, B.,  Pathogens and Global Health,  107:442-442. 2013.
Mosquito population replacement requires gene drive mechanisms in order to spread linked genes, mediating disease refractoriness, through wild populations. Medea is predicted to be a low threshold gene drive mechanism, able to spread from low initial frequency. Such a system is ...
Keywords: , ,

Modelling the spatial spread of a homing endonuclease gene in a mosquito population

North, AB, A.; Godfray, H. C. J.,  Journal of Applied Ecology,  50:1216-1225. 2013.
Homing endonuclease genes (HEGs) exist naturally in many single-celled organisms and can show extremely strong genetic drive allowing them to spread through populations into which they are introduced. They are being investigated as tools to manipulate the populations of important ...
Keywords: , ,

Modeling the dynamics of a non-limited and a self-limited gene drive system in structured Aedes aegypti populations

Legros, MX, C. G.; Morrison, A.; Scott, T. W.; Lloyd, A. L.; Gould, F.,  PLOS One,  8:e83354. 2013.
Recently there have been significant advances in research on genetic strategies to control populations of disease-vectoring insects. Some of these strategies use the gene drive properties of selfish genetic elements to spread physically linked anti-pathogen genes into local ...
Keywords: , ,

From genes to games: Cooperation and cyclic dominance in meiotic drive

Traulsen, AR, F. A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  299:120-125. 2012.
Evolutionary change can be described on a genotypic level or a phenotypic level. Evolutionary game theory is typically thought of as a phenotypic approach, although it is frequently argued that it can also be used to describe population genetic evolution. Interpreting the ...
Keywords: , ,

Confinement of gene drive systems to local populations: A comparative analysis

Marshall, JMH, B. A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  294:153-171. 2012.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever pose a major health problem through much of the world. One approach to disease prevention involves the use of selfish genetic elements to drive disease-refractory genes into wild mosquito populations. Recently engineered ...
Keywords: , ,

General principles of single-construct chromosomal gene drive

Marshall, JMH, B. A.,  Evolution,  66:2150-2166. 2012.
Gene drive systems are genetic elements capable of spreading into a population even if they confer a fitness cost to their host. We consider a class of drive systems consisting of a chromosomally located, linked cluster of genes, the presence of which renders specific classes of ...
Keywords: , ,

Scrambling eggs: Meiotic drive and the evolution of female recombination rates

Brandvain, YC, G.,  Genetics,  190:709-723. 2012.
Theories to explain the prevalence of sex and recombination have long been a central theme of evolutionary biology. Yet despite decades of attention dedicated to the evolution of sex and recombination, the widespread pattern of sex differences in the recombination rate is not ...
Keywords: , ,

Requirements for effective malaria control with homing endonuclease genes

Deredec, AG, H. C. J.; Burt, A.,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  108:e874-e880. 2011.
Malaria continues to impose a substantial burden on human health. We have previously proposed that biological approaches to control the mosquito vector of disease could be developed using homing endonuclease genes (HEGs), a class of selfish or parasitic gene that exists naturally ...
Keywords: , ,

Stability properties of underdominance in finite subdivided populations

Altrock, PMT, A.; Reed, F. A.,  PLOS Computational Biology,  7:10. 2011.
In isolated populations underdominance leads to bistable evolutionary dynamics: below a certain mutant allele frequency the wildtype succeeds. Above this point, the potentially underdominant mutant allele fixes. In subdivided populations with gene flow there can be stable states ...
Keywords: , ,

Semele: A Killer-male, rescue-female system for suppression and replacement of insect disease vector populations

Marshall, JMP, G. W.; Buchman, A. B.; Hay, B. A.,  Genetics,  187:535-551. 2011.
Two strategies to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, are reducing mosquito population sizes or replacing populations with disease-refractory varieties. We propose a genetic system, Semele, which may be used for both. Semele consists of two ...
Keywords: , ,

Inverse Medea as a novel gene drive system for socal population replacement: A theoretical analysis

Marshall, JMH, B. A.,  Journal of Heredity,  102:336-341. 2011.
One strategy to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, on a regional scale is to use gene drive systems to spread disease-refractory genes into wild mosquito populations. The development of a synthetic Medea element that has been shown to drive ...
Keywords: , ,

Gene-drive into insect populations with age and spatial structure: a theoretical assessment

Huang, YXL, A. L.; Legros, M.; Gould, F.,  Evolutionary Applications,  4:415-428. 2011.
The potential benefits and risks of genetically engineered gene-drive systems for replacing wild pest strains with more benign strains must be assessed prior to any field releases. We develop a computer simulation model to assess the feasibility of using engineered underdominance ...
Keywords: , ,

Segregation distortion and the evolution of sex-determining mechanisms

Kozielska, MW, F. J.; Beukeboom, L. W.; Pen, I.,  Heredity,  104:100-112. 2010.
Segregation distorters are alleles that distort normal segregation in their own favour. Sex chromosomal distorters lead to biased sex ratios, and the presence of such distorters, therefore, may induce selection for a change in the mechanism of sex determination. The evolutionary ...
Keywords: , ,

Games in tetrads: Segregation, recombination, and meiotic drive

Haig, D,  American Naturalist,  176:404-413. 2010.
The two alleles at a heterozygous locus segregate during meiosis, sometimes at meiosis I and sometimes at meiosis II. The timing of segregation is determined by the pattern of crossing-over between a locus and its attached centromeres. Genes near centromeres can exploit this ...
Keywords: , ,

Segregation analysis of a sex ratio distortion locus in congenic mice

Casellas, JF, C. R.; Verdugo, R. A.; Medrano, J. F.,  Journal of Heredity,  101:351-359. 2010.
The congenic HG.CAST-(D17Mit196-D17Mit190) (HQ17(hg/hg)) mouse strain showed a significant departure on the expected 50%/50% offspring sex ratio in more than 2400 progeny (55.7% females). The entire pedigree file included data from 13 nonoverlapping purebred generations and an ...
Keywords: , ,

Using underdominance to bi-stably transform local populations

Altrock, PMT, A.; Reeves, R. G.; Reed, F. A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  267:62-75. 2010.
Underdominance refers to natural selection against individuals with a heterozygous genotype. Here, we analyze a single-locus underdominant system of two large local populations that exchange individuals at a certain migration rate. The system can be characterized by fixed points ...
Keywords: , ,

Multi-Locus Assortment (MLA) for transgene dispersal and elimination in mosquito populations

Rasgon, JL,  PLOS One,  4:e5833. 2009.
: Replacement of wild-type mosquito populations with genetically modified versions is being explored as a potential strategy to control vector-borne diseases. Due to lower expected relative fitness of transgenic individuals, transgenes must be driven into populations for these ...
Keywords: , ,

The effect of gene drive on containment of transgenic mosquitoes

Marshall, JM,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  258:250-265. 2009.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever continue to be a major health problem through Much of the world. Several new potential approaches to disease control utilize gene drive to spread anti-pathogen genes into the mosquito Population. Prior to a release, these ...
Keywords: , ,

Skeeter Buster: A stochastic, spatially explicit modeling tool for studying Aedes aegypti population replacement and population suppression strategies

Magori, KL, M.; Puente, M. E.; Focks, D. A.; Scott, T. W.; Lloyd, A. L.; Gould, F.,  PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  3:e508. 2009.
Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans. The only prevention measure currently available is the control of its vectors, primarily Aedes aegypti. Recent advances in genetic engineering have opened the possibility for a new range of control ...
Keywords: , ,

Gene-drive in age-structured insect populations

Huang, YXL, A. L.; Legros, M.; Gould, F.,  Evolutionary Applications,  2:143-159. 2009.
To date, models of gene-drive mechanisms proposed for replacing wild-type mosquitoes with transgenic strains that cannot transmit diseases have assumed no age or mating structure. We developed a more detailed model to analyze the effects of age and mating-related factors on the ...
Keywords: , ,

A Killer–Rescue system for self-limiting gene drive of anti-pathogen constructs

Gould, FH, Yunxin; Legros, Mathieu; Lloyd, Alun L.,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  275:2823-2829. 2008.
A number of genetic mechanisms have been suggested for driving anti-pathogen genes into natural populations. Each of these mechanisms requires complex genetic engineering, and most are theoretically expected to permanently spread throughout the target species' geographical range. ...
Keywords: , ,

Centromere-associated female meiotic drive entails male fitness costs in Monkeyflowers

Fishman, LS, A.,  Science,  322:1559-1562. 2008.
Female meiotic drive, in which paired chromosomes compete for access to the egg, is a potentially powerful but rarely documented evolutionary force. In interspecific monkeyflower ( Mimulus) hybrids, a driving M. guttatus allele ( D) exhibits a 98: 2 transmission advantage via ...
Keywords: , ,

Sexually antagonistic “Zygotic Drive” of the sex Chromosomes

Rice, WRG, S.; Friberg, U.,  PLOS Genetics,  4:e1000313. 2008.
Genomic conflict is perplexing because it causes the fitness of a species to decline rather than improve. Many diverse forms of genomic conflict have been identified, but this extant tally may be incomplete. Here, we show that the unusual characteristics of the sex chromosomes ...
Keywords: , ,

Introducing desirable transgenes into insect populations using Y-linked meiotic drive – A theoretical assessment

Huang, YXM, K.; Lloyd, A. L.; Gould, F.,  Evolution,  61:717-726. 2007.
The use of genetic drive mechanisms to replace native mosquito genotypes with individuals bearing antipathogen transgenes is a potential strategy for repressing insect transmission of human diseases such as malaria and dengue. Antipathogen transgenes have been developed and ...
Keywords: , ,

Introducing transgenes into insect populations using combined gene-drive strategies: Modeling and analysis

Huang, YXM, K.; Lloyd, A. L.; Gould, F.,  Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,  37:1054-1063. 2007.
Engineered underdominance (EU), meiotic drive (MD) and Wolbachia have been proposed as mechanisms for driving anti-pathogen transgenes into natural populations of insect vectors of human diseases. EU can drive transgenes to high and stable frequencies but requires the release of ...
Keywords: , ,

Cage trials using an endogenous meiotic drive gene in the mosquito Aedes aegypti to promote population replacement

Cha, SJM, A.; Chadee, D. D.; Severson, D. W.,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  74:62-68. 2006.
Control of arthropod-borne diseases based on population replacement with genetically modified noncompetent vectors has been proposed as a promising alternative to conventional control strategies. Due to likely fitness costs associated with vectors manipulated to carry ...
Keywords: , ,

Population dynamics of transposable elements: Copy number regulation and species invasion requirements

Struchiner, CJK, M. G.; Ribeiro, J. M. C.,  Journal of Biological Systems,  13:455-475. 2005.
A deterministic population dynamics model of the spread of transposable elements (TE) in sexually reproducing populations is presented. The population is modeled by a three-parameter equation describing host reproductive capacity, population size and the strength of the density ...
Keywords: , ,

Transposable element insertion location bias and the dynamics of gene drive in mosquito populations

Rasgon, JLG, F.,  Insect Molecular Biology,  14:493-500. 2005.
Some vector-borne disease control strategies using transgenic mosquitoes require transgene spread to high frequency in populations. Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that replicate and transpose within the genomes of other organisms and may therefore be represented in ...
Keywords: , ,

A novel meiotic drive locus almost completely distorts segregation in Mimulus (monkeyflower) hybrids

Fishman, LW, J. H.,  Genetics,  169:347-353. 2005.
We report the discovery, mapping, and characterization of a meiotic drive locus (D) exhibiting nearly 100% nonrandom transmission in hybrids between two species of yellow monkeyflowers, outcrossing Mimulus guttatus and selfing M. nasutus. Only 1% of F-2 hybrids were M. nasutus ...
Keywords: , ,

Intraparental gamete competition provides a selective advantage for the development of hybrid sterility via meiotic drive

Adams, CS,  Evolution,  59:1229-1236. 2005.
Hybrid sterility can have evolutionary significance and varies substantially by taxon, but few models attempt to predict or explain this variability. Hybrid sterility is commonly observed and develops early in isolation, at odds with straightforward models that predict it would ...
Keywords: , ,

Evolution of autosomal suppression of the sex-ratio trait in Drosophila

Vaz, SCC, A. B.,  Genetics,  166:265-277. 2004.
The sex-ratio trait is the production of female-biased progenies due to X-linked meiotic drive in males of several Drosophila species. The driving X chromosome (called SR) is not fixed due to at least two stabilizing factors: natural selection (favoring ST, the nondriving ...
Keywords: , ,

Meiotic drive and sex chromosome cycling

Hall, DW,  Evolution,  58:925-931. 2004.
Sex-linked meiotic drive is found in a broad variety of taxa, including insects, birds, and mammals. In populations of some species, we see four types of sex chromosomes segregating: normal and driving X chromosomes and susceptible and resistant Y chromosomes. A theoretical ...
Keywords: , ,

To what extent do different types of sex ratio distorters interfere?

Engelstadter, JM, H.; Hurst, G. D. D.,  Evolution,  58:2382-2386. 2004.
Within the Diptera, two different selfish genetic elements are known to cause the production of female-biased sex ratios: maternally inherited bacteria that kill male zygotes (male-killers), and X chromosomes causing the degeneration of Y-bearing sperm in males (meiotic drive). ...
Keywords: , ,

Site-specific selfish genes as tools for the control and genetic engineering of natural populations

Burt, A,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  270:921-928. 2003.
Site-specific selfish genes exploit host functions to copy themselves into a defined target DNA sequence, and include homing endonuclease genes, group II introns and some LINE-like transposable elements. If such genes can be engineered to target new host sequences, then they can ...
Keywords: , ,

Reciprocal crossover asymmetry and meiotic drive in a human recombination hot spot

Jeffreys, AJN, R.,  Nature Genetics,  31:267-271. 2002.
Human DNA diversity arises ultimately from germline mutation that creates new haplotypes that can be reshuffled by meiotic recombination. Reciprocal crossover generates recombinant haplotypes but should not influence the frequencies of alleles in a population. We demonstrate ...
Keywords: , ,

Sperm competition and the dynamics of X chromosome drive: Stability and extinction

Taylor, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Selection and segregation distortion in a sex-differentiated population

Weissing, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

An unusual sex-determination system in South American field mice (genus Akodon): The role of mutation, selection, and meiotic drive in maintaining XY females

Hoekstra, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Persistence of selfish genetic elements: population structure and conflict

Hatcher, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Meiotic drive and evolution of female choice

Reinhold, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Models of sex-ratio meiotic drive and sexual selection in stalk-eyed flies

Lande, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Suppression of sex-ratio meiotic drive and the maintenance of Y-chromosome polymorphism in Drosophila

Jaenike, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Population dynamics under parasitic sex ratio distortion

Hatcher, 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. ...
Keywords: , ,

Meiotic drive of chromosomal knobs reshaped the maize genome

Buckler, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Segregation distortion in a deme structured population: opposing demands of gene, individual and group selection

van 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Evolution of segregation distortion: Potential for a high degree of polymorphism

van 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

The dynamics of maternal-effect selfish genetic elements

Smith, 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 ...
Keywords: , ,

Malaria: existing methods of vector control and molecular entomology

Curtis, CFT, H.,  British Medical Bulletin,  54:311-325. 1998.
In general, the most effective means of malaria vector control is the killing of adult mosquitoes with a residual insecticide applied to bednets or sprayed on house walls and ceilings. Major reductions in all-cause child mortality have been achieved in Africa by these means. In ...
Keywords: , ,

Wolbachia as a possible means of driving genes into populations

Curtis, CFS, S. P.,  Parasitology,  116:S111-S115. 1998.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility consists of sterility in cross matings, the crossing type being maternally inherited. It can be explained by the action of Wolbachia symbionts which are transmitted through the egg cytoplasm and leave an imprint on the sperm which prevents it ...
Keywords: , ,

Polymorphism for Y-linked suppressors of sex-ratio in two natural populations of Drosophila mediopunctata

Carvalho, ABV, S. C.; Klaczko, L. B.,  Genetics,  146:891-902. 1997.
In several Drosophila species there is a trait known as ''sex-ratio'': males carrying certain X chromosomes (called ''SR'') produce female biased progenies due to X-Y meiotic drive. In Drosophila mediopunctata this trait has a variable expression due to Y-linked suppressors of ...
Keywords: , ,

Segregation distortion in unstructured and structured populations: Competition between ‘sterile’ t haplotypes

VanBoven, MW, F. J.,  Netherlands Journal of Zoology,  46:216-226. 1996.
By means of two simple models we investigate the competition between sex-specific segregation distorters in unstructured and structured populations. The models are motivated by the t complex of the house mouse. Some variants at this gene complex, the t haplotypes, distort ...
Keywords: , ,

Competition between segregation distorters: Coexistence of ”superior” and ”inferior” haplotypes at the t complex

vanBoven, MW, F. J.; Heg, D.; Huisman, J.,  Evolution,  50:2488-2498. 1996.
By means of population genetical models, we investigate the competition between sex-specific segregation distorters. Although the models are quite general, they are motivated by a specific example, the t complex of the house mouse. Some variants at this gene complex, the t ...
Keywords: , ,

Analysis of meiotic segregation, using single-sperm typing: Meiotic drive at the myotonic dystrophy locus

Leeflang, EPM, M. S.; Arnheim, N.,  American Journal of Human Genetics,  59:896-904. 1996.
Meiotic drive at the myotonic dystrophy (DM) locus has recently been suggested as being responsible for maintaining the frequency, in the human population, of DM chromosomes capable of expansion to the disease state. In order to test this hypothesis, we have studied samples of ...
Keywords: , ,

Segregation distortion of the CTG repeats at the myotonic dystrophy locus

Chakraborty, RS, D. N.; Deka, R.; Yu, L. M.; Shriver, M. D.; Ferrell, R. E.,  American Journal of Human Genetics,  59:109-118. 1996.
Myotonic dystrophy (DM), an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disease, is caused by a CTG-repeat expansion, with affected individuals having greater than or equal to 50 repeats of this trinucleotide, at the DMPK locus of human chromosome 19q13.3. Severely affected individuals die ...
Keywords: , ,

Hypothetical sisterkiller

Butcher, DLD, H. W.,  Nature,  369:26-26. 1994.
It was premature of Hurst in his News and Views article I to accept Haig's claim2 that a hypothetical meiotic drive element, SisterKiller, can lead to evolution from one-step to multi-step meiosis. The basis of Haig's claim is that a SisterKiller allele that causes a gamete to ...
Keywords: , ,

The evolution of unusual chromosomal systems in coccoids: Extraordinary sex-ratios revisited

Haig, D,  Journal of Evolutionary Biology,  6:69-77. 1993.
Coccoids (scale insects) exhibit a wide variety of chromosomal systems. In many species, paternal chromosomes are eliminated from the male germline such that all of a male's sperm transmit an identical set of maternal chromosomes. In such species, an offspring's sex is determined ...
Keywords: , ,

Genetic scrambling as a defense against meiotic drive

Haig, DG, A.,  Journal of Theoretical Biology,  153:531-558. 1991.
Genetic recombination has important consequences, including the familiar rules of Mendelian genetics. Here we present a new argument for the evolutionary function of recombination based on the hypothesis that meiotic drive systems continually arise to threaten the fairness of ...
Keywords: , ,

Divergence of meiotic drive-suppression systems as an explanation for sex-biased hybrid sterility and inviability

Frank, SA,  Evolution,  45:262-267. 1991.
Two empirical generalizations about speciation remain unexplained: the tendency of the heterogametic sex to be sterile or inviable in F1 hybrids (Haldane's rule), and the tendency of the X chromosome to harbor the genetic elements that cause this sex bias in hybrid fitness. I ...
Keywords: , ,

A comparative approach to the population genetics theory of segregation distortion

Feldman, MWO, Sarah P.,  American Naturalist,  137:443-456. 1991.
Mathematical models of four well-known naturally occurring systems of segregation distortion are compared. These include the sex-ratio chromosome of Drosophila pseudoobscura, the Segregation Distorter (SD) complex of D. melanogaster, the t locus in Mus musculus, and the sex-ratio ...
Keywords: , ,

Why is Mendelian segregation so exact

Crow, JF,  Bioessays,  13:305-312. 1991.
The precise 1:1 segregation of Mendelian heredity is ordinarily taken for granted, yet there are numerous examples of 'cheating' genes that perpetuate themselves in the population by biasing the Mendelian process in their favor. One example is the Segregation Distortion system of ...
Keywords: , ,

B-chromosome drive

Jones, RN,  American Naturalist,  137:430-442. 1991.
The view of B-chromosome polymorphisms that is coming into favor resembles the so-called "parasitic" model, which was first advanced 45 yr ago. Since that time, repeated and ongoing efforts have been made to ascribe an adaptive role to B's (e.g., in terms of phenotypic advantage, ...
Keywords: , ,

Evolution of the segregation ratio – Modification of gene conversion and meiotic drive

Bengtsson, BOU, M. K.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  38:192-218. 1990.
We compare the evolutionary pressures that direct the modification of gene conversion and meiotic drive at loci subject to purifying and overdominant viability selection. Gene conversion differs from meiotic drive in that modifers do not affect their own segregation ratios, even ...
Keywords: , ,

Genetics-driving genes and chromosomes

Charlesworth, B,  Nature,  332:394-395. 1988.
Thereare several genetic and chromosomal systems in which Mendel's first law - the equal probability of transmission of maternal and paternal alternative alleles or homologues - is violated. This phenomenon was named 'meiotic drive' in 1957 by Sandler and Novitski, who drew ...
Keywords: , ,

X-4 Translocation and meiotic drive in Drosophila melanogaster males: Role of sex chromosome pairing

McKee, B,  Genetics,  116:409-413. 1987.
Males carrying certain X-4 translocations exhibit strongly skewed sperm recovery ratios. The Xp4D half of the translocation disjoins regularly from the Y chromosome and the 4‘XD half disjoins regularly from the normal 4. Yet the smaller member of each bivalent is recovered in ...
Keywords: , ,

A theoretical-analysis of the effects of sex-chromosome aneuploidy on X-chromosome and Y-chromosome meiotic drive

Lyttle, TW,  Evolution,  36:822-831. 1982.
Extra sex chromosomes are normally detrimental to the individual carrying them. In XY (or WZ) sex determining systems, an extra X chromosome in the homogametic sex generates enough X-autosome imbalance to usually cause inviability, or at least sterility. On the oth- er hand, ...
Keywords: , ,

A 2-locus model for polymorphism for sex-linked meiotic drive modifiers with possible applications to Aedes aegypti

Maffi, GJ, S. D.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  19:19-36. 1981.
A two-locus model is presented which shows the possibility of maintaining a polymorphism for modifiers of sex-linked meiotic drive in the absence of fitness differences. The model is very similar to the situation actually found in some laboratory strains of the mosquito Aedes ...
Keywords: , ,

Experimental population-genetics of meiotic drive systems .3: Neutralization of sex-ratio distortion in Drosophila through sex-chromosome aneuploidy

Lyttle, TW,  Genetics,  98:317-334. 1981.
Laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster were challenged by; pseudo-Y drive, which mimics true Y-chromosome meiotic drive through the; incorporation of Segregation Distorter (SD) in a T(Y;2) complex. This causes; extreme sex-ratio distrotion and can ultimately lead to ...
Keywords: , ,

Population genetics of modifiers of meiotic drive.3. Equilibrium analysis of a gneral model for genetic control of segregation distortion

Thomson, GJF, M. W.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  10:8-25. 1976.
Prout, Bungaard and Bryant (1973, Theor. Popul. Biol. 4, 446–465) presented the first formal treatment of a model of meiotic drive involving a modifier locus which controls the intensity of drive. They studied the equilibrium behavior in the simplest model where it is assumed ...
Keywords: , ,

Modifier theory of meiotic drive: Is Mendelial segregation stable

Liberman, U,  Theoretical Population Biology,  10:127-132. 1976.
The evolutionary fate of rare modifiers, based on the modifier theory of meiotic drive, is studied in this paper. It is shown that a polymorphism based on Mendelian segregation is never stable for any recombination frequencies between 0 and 12, and that, for tight linkage between ...
Keywords: , ,

Population genetics of modifiers of meiotic drive 4: Evolution of sex-ratio distortion

Thomson, GJF, M. W.,  Theoretical Population Biology,  8:202-211. 1975.
A model for the evolution of the sex-ratio meiotic drive system in Drosophila is proposed and analyzed. The model incorporates drive and altered fertility genetic modification The condition change in the sex-ratio of the modifying distortion overcome any relative of meiotic in ...
Keywords: , ,

Modifier theory of meiotic drive

Hartl, DL,  Theoretical Population Biology,  7:168-174. 1975.
The evolutionary fate of rare modifiers of recessive lethal segregation distorters has been studied. Suppressors or partial suppressors will always increase in frequency. Enhancers will increase in frequency if linkage is sufficiently tight and be lost if linkage is sufficiently ...
Keywords: , ,

Analysis of a general population genetic model of meiotic drive

Hartl, DL,  Evolution,  24:538-545. 1970.
The purpose of this article is to present the detailed solution of a model of meiotic drive which Lewontin (1968) has suggested would be helpful in understanding the evo- lutionary dynamics of the t-alleles in the house mouse. Because mice tend to breed in small endogamous family ...
Keywords: , ,

Possible use of translocations to fix desirable genes in insect populations.

Curtis, CF,  Nature,  218:368-369. 1968.
Chromosome translocation heterozygotes (T/+) are usually semisterile, but translocation homozygotes (T/T) if viable are usually fully fertile. If such a viable translocation were produced in an insect pest, T/T insects could be reared in captivity and released into the wild, ...
Keywords: , ,