Keywords: Gene editing

Man Vs. Mosquito

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Aman Vora,  Brown Political Review,  2024.
It is a middle school math teacher’s favorite trivia question: What is the world’s deadliest animal? After images of a hunting tiger or towering gorilla flash through our imagination, we remember that it is the humble mosquito, whose terrible impact on human lives and ...

The potential of gene drives in malaria vector species to control malaria in African environments

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Hancock, P.A., North, A., Leach, A.W. et al.,  Nature Communications,  15. 2024.
Gene drives are a promising means of malaria control with the potential to cause sustained reductions in transmission. In real environments, however, their impacts will depend on local ecological and epidemiological factors. We develop a data-driven model to investigate the ...

To CRISPR or Not to CRISPR? Ethical Considerations in Gene-Editing Insects

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Brendan Parent, Meghan Barrett,  American Entomologist,  70:54-57. 2024.
Genetically modified corn has helped feed the world (Hernandes-Lopes et al. 2023). Genetically modified mosquitoes could help eliminate devastating diseases like malaria (Hammond and Galizi 2017). Plainly, gene editing can serve some important human interests. Still, many people ...

New genetic editing technique can modify wild populations with less risk

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Macquarie University,  Phys.org,  2024.
A new technique developed by researchers from Macquarie University and the California Institute of Technology could allow scientists to more safely alter the genetic makeup of wild populations. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. The researchers have ...

Chinese researchers make genetic breakthrough that could change the future of agriculture: ‘Powerful and transformative strategy’

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Jeremiah Budin,  The Cool Down,  2024.
Chinese scientists have reportedly engineered a way to use gene-editing technology to bypass natural plant behavior and force crops to inherit genes that will make them more resilient and easier to grow, according to Interesting Engineering. "The genetic manipulation of wild ...

Re-engineering cancerous tumors to self-destruct and kill drug-resistant cells

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Pennsylvania State University,  Medical Xpress,  2024.
Treating cancer can sometimes feel like a game of Whac-A-Mole. The disease can become resistant to treatment, and clinicians never know when, where and what resistance might emerge, leaving them one step behind. But a team led by Penn State researchers has found a way to ...

Chinese scientists find natural selection loophole that could help transform food security

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Victoria Bela,  South China Morning Post,  2024.
Scientists in China have found a way to bypass natural plant gene inheritance, by using a CRISPR-based gene editing system to boost the transmission of preferred genes even when they are detrimental to a plant. By harnessing a system that uses both a toxin and an antidote to ...

Djibouti Unleashes Controversial Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

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Palki Sharma,  Firstpost,  2024.
Djibouti is combatting malaria by employing a unique tactic: utilising mosquitoes to battle mosquitoes. The East African nation has released tens of thousands of genetically engineered mosquitoes armed with a "self-limiting" gene. This bioengineered gene aims to curb mosquito ...

Genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria

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The Naked Scientists,  2024.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes are taking to the air in an experiment to attempt to curtail malaria in Djibouti. The tiny African nation all but eliminated malaria just over a decade ago. But rising population and urbanisation has seen disease cases skyrocketing again, making ...

Curing mosquitoes with genetic approaches for malaria control

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Mary Kefi, Victor Cardoso-Jaime, Sally A. Saab, George Dimopoulos,  Trends in Parasitology,  2024.
Malaria remains a persistent global public health challenge because of the limitations of current prevention tools. The use of transgenic mosquitoes incapable of transmitting malaria, in conjunction with existing methods, holds promise for achieving elimination of malaria and ...

Wolbachia infection-responsive immune genes suppress Plasmodium falciparum infection in Anopheles stephensi

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Vandana V, Dong S, Sheth T, Sun Q, Wen H, Maldonado A, et al.,  PLoS Pathogens,  20. 2024.
Wolbachia, a maternally transmitted symbiotic bacterium of insects, can suppress a variety of human pathogens in mosquitoes, including malaria-causing Plasmodium in the Anopheles vector. However, the mechanistic basis of Wolbachia-mediated Plasmodium suppression in mosquitoes is ...

Monitoring Aedes populations for arboviruses, Wolbachia, insecticide resistance and its mechanisms in various agroecosystems in Benin

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S. Ateutchia-Ngouanet, F. Nanfack-Minkeu, K. Mavridis, S. Wanji, M. Demanou, J. Vontas, R. Djouaka,  Acta Tropica,  253. 2024.
The susceptibility of arbovirus vectors to insecticides and the microbiome of Aedes species are understudied in Benin.

On EAC’s GMO disharmony and little-known GM mosquito research

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Gitura Mwaura,  The New Times,  2024.
A meeting in Dar es Salaam in November 2022 sought to chart the legal way forward for the Target Malaria and Transmission Zero Project, as the research initiative is called.

Genome editing in pests: basic science to applications

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Chen, X., Palli, S.R.,  Journal of Pest Science,  2024.
Recent developments in sequencing technologies produced enormous data on gene sequences and the identity of genes in many pest insects and disease vectors. However, the function of many of these genes is unknown. Functional genomics studies to uncover gene function in pest ...

Transgenic expression of cif genes from Wolbachia strain wAlbB recapitulates cytoplasmic incompatibility in Aedes aegypti

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McNamara, C.J., Ant, T.H., Harvey-Samuel, T. et al.,  Nature Communications,  15. 2024.
The endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia can invade insect populations by modifying host reproduction through cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), an effect that results in embryonic lethality when Wolbachia-carrying males mate with Wolbachia-free females. Here we describe a transgenic ...

The $11million wasp to end (hopefully) all wasps

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Kieran Chisnall,  Stuff,  2024.
A new project to eradicate wasps, which cost the country millions of dollars, has begun in Dunedin. The key to that $11million project would be a genetically altered wasp, capable of destroying wasps colonies from the inside. Professor Peter Dearden, Genomics Aotearoa ...

New gene-editing tools may help wipe out mosquito-borne diseases

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Greg Allen,  NPR,  2024.
In the age-old war of human versus mosquitoes, the bugs have been winning. At least 700,000 people die every year from mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, West Nile and yellow fever. Global trade and climate change have helped disease-carrying species become ...

A multiplexed, confinable CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive can propagate in caged Aedes aegypti populations

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Anderson, M.A.E., Gonzalez, E., Edgington, M.P. et al.,  Nature Communications,  15. 2024.
Aedes aegypti is the main vector of several major pathogens including dengue, Zika and chikungunya viruses. Classical mosquito control strategies utilizing insecticides are threatened by rising resistance. This has stimulated interest in new genetic systems such as gene ...

Gene editing would be helpful for pest control, report says

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Alex Binkley,  National Newswatch,  2024.
Ottawa-Canada needs to boost its gene editing research capacity to better advance that branch of science’s pest control potential, says a report by the Council of Canadian Academies. There is insufficient intensive research and development activity in gene-edited pest control ...

Maxizyme-mediated suppression of chikungunya virus replication and transmission in transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

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Mishra P, Balaraman V, Fraser Jr. M,  Frontiers in Microbiology,  14. 2024.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen of significant public health importance. There are currently no prophylactic vaccines or therapeutics available to control CHIKV. One approach to arbovirus control that has been proposed is the replacement of ...

Genetically modified mosquitoes

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The SoCal Scene Staff,  Spectrum News 1,  2024.
In the battle against pests, the deadliest insect in the world has become the mosquito. There’s no silver bullet to eradicate it, but one company is looking to change that, using a method that seems out of the future. 

African scientist could wipe out malaria by editing mosquito DNA

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Nimi Princewill,  CNN,  2023.
Malaria is a leading cause of death in Burkina Faso, where nearly all of the West African nation’s 22 million inhabitants, especially children, are at risk of the disease, according to the World Health Organization. Malaria killed nearly 19,000 people in Burkina Faso in 2021, ...

CRISPR/Cas9: a cutting-edge solution for combatting the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

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Gouda, M.N.R., Jeevan, H., Shashank, H.G.,  Molecular Biology Reports,  51. 2023.
The utilization of CRISPR/Cas9 in Spodoptera frugiperda, commonly known as fall armyworm, presents a groundbreaking avenue for pest management. With its ability to precisely modify the insect’s genome, CRISPR/Cas9 offers innovative strategies to combat this destructive pest. ...

A population modification gene drive targeting both Saglin and Lipophorin impairs Plasmodium transmission in Anopheles mosquitoes

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Emily I Green, Etienne Jaouen, Dennis Klug, Roenick Proveti Olmo, Amandine Gautier, Stéphanie Blandin, Eric Marois,  eLife,  12. 2023.
Lipophorin is an essential, highly expressed lipid transport protein that is secreted and circulates in insect hemolymph. We hijacked the Anopheles coluzzii Lipophorin gene to make it co-express a single-chain version of antibody 2A10, which binds sporozoites of the malaria ...

Homing-based gene drives can introgress rapidly into local genetic backgrounds with minimal chromosomal conversion in Anopheles gambiae

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Tony Nolan, Poppy Pescod, Giulia Bevivino et al.,  Research Square,  2023.
CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive control strategies use a homing selfish genetic element which induces a double-stranded break at the target site and is copied into the opposing chromosome, breaking an essential gene and ensuring super-Mendelian inheritance. During the copying process SNPs ...

Invasive Feral Cats Could Be Wiped Out Using Genetic Modification

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Jess Thomson,  Newsweek,  2023.
Hordes of feral cats terrorizing native species in Australia could be combatted using a special type of genetic engineering, scientists have suggested. The cats, which came to Australia via European colonizers, regularly kill native mammals, birds, and reptiles, including ...

Anopheles gambiae on remote islands in the Indian Ocean: origins and prospects for malaria elimination by genetic modification of extant populations

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Ditter, R.E., Campos, M., Crepeau, M.W. et al.,  Scientific Reports,  13. 2023.
The mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.s. is a primary malaria vector throughout sub-Saharan Africa including the islands of the Comoros archipelago (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mayotte and Mohéli). These islands are located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in eastern Africa. ...

Use of Drosophila Transgenics to Identify Functions for Symbiont Effectors

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Cortez, C.T., Murphy, R.O., Owens, I.M., Beckmann, J.F.,  Methods in Molecular Biology,  2739. 2023.
Wolbachia, one of the most successful and studied insect symbionts, and Drosophila, one of the most understood model insects, can be exploited as complementary tools to unravel mechanisms of insect symbiosis. Although Wolbachia itself cannot be grown axenically as clonal isolates ...

Efficient sex separation by exploiting differential alternative splicing of a dominant marker in Aedes aegypti

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Shih-Che Weng, Igor Antoshechkin, Eric Marois, Omar S. Akbari,  PLoS Genetics,  2023.
Only female mosquitoes consume blood giving them the opportunity to transmit deadly human pathogens. Therefore, it is critical to remove females before conducting releases for genetic biocontrol interventions. Here we describe a robust sex-sorting approach termed SEPARATOR ...

Advances and challenges in synthetic biology for mosquito control

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Shih-Che Weng, Reem A. Masri, Omar S. Akbari,  Trends in Parasitology,  2023.
Mosquito-borne illnesses represent a significant global health peril, resulting in approximately one million fatalities annually. West Nile, dengue, Zika, and malaria are continuously expanding their global reach, driven by factors that escalate mosquito populations and pathogen ...

Ghana publishes its guidelines on Genome Editing

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Anonymous,  BusinessGhana,  2023.
Ghana's National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has published its guidelines on Genome Editing and Gene Stacks with regards Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) joining Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi, as the fourth country in Africa with the guidelines. Genome editing is an emerging and ...

New Techniques of Genetic Modification in Pest Control Spark Debate in Canada

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Sandeep Kunchikor,  Express Healthcare Management,  2023.
Scientists in Canada are urging serious discussions on the use of genetic modification as a new technique in pest control. In a recent report by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, a branch of Health Canada that regulates pesticide use, experts argue that genetic modification ...

Scientific report urges debate on genetic modification to control insect pests

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Bob Weber,  CTV News,  2023.
Scientists are learning to turn the genetics of insect pests against themselves, altering the genome of familiar foes in ways that give farmers and doctors new ways to fight them. The burgeoning field offers fresh hope against old scourges such as malaria. And it could provide ...

Single-cell profiling of Anopheles gambiae spermatogenesis defines the onset of meiotic silencing and premeiotic overexpression of the X chromosome

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N. Page, C. Taxiarchi, D. Tonge, J. Kuburic, E. Chesters, A. Kriezis, K. Kyrou, L. Game, T. Nolan and R. Galizi,  Commun Biol,  6:850. 2023.
Understanding development and genetic regulation in the Anopheles gambiae germline is essential to engineer effective genetic control strategies targeting this malaria mosquito vector. These include targeting the germline to induce sterility or using regulatory sequences to drive ...

The boundary problem: Defining and delineating the community in field trials with gene drive organisms

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N. de Graeff, I. Pirson, R. van der Graaf, A. L. Bredenoord and K. R. Jongsma,  Bioethics,  2023.
Despite widespread and worldwide efforts to eradicate vector-borne diseases such as malaria, these diseases continue to have an enormous negative impact on public health. For this reason, scientists are working on novel control strategies, such as gene drive technologies (GDTs). ...

In The Face Of Nigerian Mosquito Nets, Westerners’ Gene Editing Offers Hope

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O. Onwumere,  The Nigerian Voice,  2023.
In Nigeria, the utilization of mosquito nets is prevalent, while in the Western world, optimism is associated with the implementation of gene editing technology. In this article, ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE reports that malaria could soon be eradicated in Nigeria. According to US ...

DIPA-CRISPR gene editing in the yellow fever mosquito <em>Aedes aegypti</em> (Diptera: Culicidae)

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S. Yu, T. Momoyo, O. Manabu, K. Hirotaka and D. Takaaki,  bioRxiv,  2023.04.07.535996. 2023.
Current methods for gene editing in insects rely on embryonic microinjection, which can be challenging for non-specialist laboratories. Recently, an alternative method known as direct parental CRISPR (DIPA-CRISPR) was developed. This method involves injecting commercial Cas9 ...

Introducing Emerging Health Technologies in Africa

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Health Tech Africa,  Health Tech Africa Podcast,  2023.
In this episode, the Project Director of the Platform for Dialogue and Action on Health Technologies in Africa, Professor Richard Mukabana, discusses new technologies that if well developed and proven safe and effective, have enormous potential to eradicate disease on the ...

Social justice environmental activists move to block gene editing to control invasive species and promote biodiversity. Here’s why they’re misguided

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S. 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 ...

The suppressive potential of a gene drive in populations of invasive social wasps is currently limited

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A. B. Meiborg, N. R. Faber, B. A. Taylor, B. A. Harpur and G. Gorjanc,  Scientific Reports,  13:1640. 2023.
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. ...

Control of Aedes mosquito populations using recombinant microalgae expressing short hairpin RNAs and their effect on plankton

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X. Fei, S. Xiao, X. Huang, Z. Li, X. Li, C. He, Y. Li, X. Zhang and X. Deng,  PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  17:e0011109. 2023.
New biocontrol strategies are urgently needed to combat vector-borne infectious diseases. This study presents a low-cost method to produce a potential mosquito insecticide that utilizes the microalgae released into suburban water sources to control mosquito populations. Chlorella ...

Gene editing and agrifood systems

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FAO,  FAO,  2022.
Gene-editing technologies represent a promising new tool for plant and animal breeding in low- and middle-income countries. They enhance precision and efficiency over current breeding methods and could lead to rapid development of improved plant varieties and animal breeds. ...

Gene drive technologies: navigating the ethical landscape

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N. d. Graeff,  Utrecht University,  2022.
Gene drives are technologies that modify a particular genetic element in animals or insects so that this genetic element does not follow the typical rules of heredity, and is passed onto future generations with an increased likelihood. Gene drive technologies could be used to ...

Combining transgenesis with paratransgenesis to fight malaria

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W. Huang, J. Vega-Rodriguez, C. Kizito, S.-J. Cha and M. Jacobs-Lorena,  eLife,  11:e77584. 2022.
Malaria is among the deadliest infectious diseases, and Plasmodium, the causative agent, needs to complete a complex development cycle in its vector mosquito for transmission to occur. Two promising strategies to curb transmission are transgenesis, consisting of genetically ...

Toward product-based regulation of crops

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F. Gould, R. M. Amasino, D. Brossard, C. R. Buell, R. A. Dixon, J. B. Falck-Zepeda, M. A. Gallo, K. E. Giller, L. L. Glenna, T. Griffin, D. Magraw, C. Mallory-Smith, K. V. Pixley, E. P. Ransom, D. M. Stelly and C. N. Stewart,  Science,  377:1051-1053. 2022.
Current process-based approaches to regulation are no longer fit for purpose Much effort has been expended globally over the past four decades to craft and update country-specific and multinational safety regulations that can be applied to crops developed by genetic engineering ...

CRISPR-Mediated Genome Engineering in Aedes aegypti

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R. Sun, M. Li, C. J. McMeniman and O. S. Akbari,  piRNA: Methods and Protocols,  2022.
CRISPR-mediated genome engineering technologies have been adapted to a wide variety of organisms with high efficiency and specificity. The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegyptiAedes aegypti, is one such organism. It is also responsible for transmitting a wide variety of deadly ...

Gene Editing and Genetic Control of Hemipteran Pests: Progress, Challenges and Perspectives

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I. D. Pacheco, L. L. Walling and P. W. Atkinson,  Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology,  10. 2022.
The origin of the order Hemiptera can be traced to the late Permian Period more than 230 MYA, well before the origin of flowering plants 100 MY later in during the Cretaceous period. Hemipteran species consume their liquid diets using a sucking proboscis; for phytophagous ...

What role can gene editing play in predator control? And are we ready to accept it?

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K. 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 ...

Recent advancements in CRISPR/Cas technology for accelerated crop improvement

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D. Das, D. L. Singha, R. R. Paswan, N. Chowdhury, M. Sharma, P. S. Reddy and C. Chikkaputtaiah,  Planta,  255:109. 2022.
The likelihood of reduced agricultural production due to highly turbulent climatic conditions increases as the global population expands. The second paradigm of stress-resilient crops with enhanced tolerance and increased productivity against various stresses is paramount to ...

Overview of paratransgenesis as a strategy to control pathogen transmission by insect vectors

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N. A. Ratcliffe, J. P. Furtado Pacheco, P. Dyson, H. C. Castro, M. S. Gonzalez, P. Azambuja and C. B. Mello,  Parasites and Vectors,  15:112. 2022.
This article presents an overview of paratransgenesis as a strategy to control pathogen transmission by insect vectors. It first briefly summarises some of the disease-causing pathogens vectored by insects and emphasises the need for innovative control methods to counter the ...

The power of gene editing

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The Economist,  The Economist,  2022.
Technologies such as genetic modification and ‘CRISPR’ will cure hereditary diseases, produce disease-resistant crops and enable the breeding of malaria-free mosquitos. But advances bring ethical and practical dilemmas. Genetically modified food is banned in the EU, and ...

First ever gene-edited ticks offer new weapons against Lyme disease

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N. Lavars,  New Atlas,  2022.
Gene editing in ticks had been thought to be impossible until now, and with good reason. Tick embryos are very tricky to inject because the egg that contains them has a tough layer on the outside, high pressure levels inside, and is also coated in a waxy layer the mothers create ...

Insect Allies – Assessment of a Viral Approach to Plant Genome Editing

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K. Pfeifer, J. L. Frieß and B. Giese,  Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management,  2022.
The DARPA program Insect Allies has already sparked scientific debate concerning technology assessment-related issues, among which the most prevalent is that of dual use potential. As apart from the issues concerning peaceful applications, the technology also provides the ...

Gene Editing in the Wild: Shaping Decisions through Broad Public Deliberation

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M. K. Gusmano, G. E. Kaebnick, K. J. Maschke, C. P. Neuhaus and B. C. Wills,  The Hastings Center Report,  51. 2021.
The essays in this special report grew out of a project funded by the National Science Foundation (with NSF award number 1827935). Gregory E. Kaebnick and Michael K. Gusmano were co-principal investigators on the project, and Karen J. Maschke and Carolyn P. Neuhaus were ...

Deficits of Public Deliberation in U.S. Oversight for Gene Edited Organisms

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J. Kuzma,  Hastings Center Report,  51 Suppl 2:S25-s33. 2021.
Environmental releases of gene edited (GEdOs) and gene drive organisms (GDOs) will likely occur under conditions of high uncertainty and in complex socioecological systems. Therefore, public deliberation is especially important to account for diverse interpretations of safety, ...

Public Deliberation about Gene Editing in the Wild

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M. K. Gusmano, G. E. Kaebnick, K. J. Maschke, C. P. Neuhaus and B. C. Wills,  Hastings Center Report,  51 Suppl 2:S2-s10. 2021.
Genetic editing technologies have long been used to modify domesticated nonhuman animals and plants. Recently, attention and funding have also been directed toward projects for modifying nonhuman organisms in the shared environment-that is, in the "wild." Interest in gene editing ...

The Decision Phases Framework for Public Engagement: Engaging Stakeholders about Gene Editing in the Wild

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S. K. Barnhill-Dilling, A. Kokotovich and J. A. Delborne,  Hastings Center Report,  51 Suppl 2:S48-s61. 2021.
Some experts and advocates propose environmental biotechnologies such as genetic engineering, gene drive systems, and synthetic biology as potential solutions to accelerating rates of species loss. While these tools may offer hope for a seemingly intractable problem, they also ...

Public Perceptions Regarding Genomic Technologies Applied to Breeding Farm Animals: A Qualitative Study

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F. Z. Naab, D. Coles, E. Goddard and L. J. Frewer,  BioTech,  10. 2021.
The societal acceptability of different applications of genomic technologies to animal production systems will determine whether their innovation trajectories will reach the commercialisation stage. Importantly, technological implementation and commercialisation trajectories, ...

Genome editing and its applications for insect pest control: Curse or blessing?

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Hacker, I. , and Schetelig, M. F,  AREA-WIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: Development and Field Application,  2021.
Gene and genome editing are described as cutting-edge research tools with the potential to tackle urgent global challenges in the management of agricultural pests and human disease vectors such as mosquitoes. The field is defined by the chances and challenges to interlink the ...

Procedurally Robust Risk Assessment Framework for Novel Genetically Engineered Organisms and Gene Drives

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Kuzma, J.,  Regulation and Governance,  15:1144-1165. 2021.
In this article, a new framework for improving risk assessments of novel genetically engineered organisms (GEOs) is developed and applied. The Procedurally Robust Risk Assessment Framework (PRRAF) provides a set of principles and criteria for assessing and enhancing risk ...

Genome Editing Tools and Gene Drives: A Brief Overview (1st ed.).

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R. Mudziwapasi, R. Chekera, C. Z. Ncube, I. Shoko, B. Ncube, T. Moyo, J. G. Chimbo, J. Dube, F. F. Mashiri, M. A. Mubani, D. Maruta, C. Chimbo, M. Masuku, R. Shoko, R. P. Nyamusamba and F. N. Jomane,  CRC Press,  2021.
Genome-editing methods are becoming routine tools for molecular and cell biologists. Such tools include ZFNs, CRISPR, megaTALs and TALENs. These tools are revolutionizing the creation of precisely manipulated genomes to modify the characteristics of organisms or cells. ...

Gene drive: a faster route to plant improvement

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H. A. Siddiqui, T. Harvey-Samuel and S. Mansoor,  Trends in Plant Science,  2021.
Gene drives for control of vector-borne diseases have been demonstrated in insects but remain challenging in plants. Theoretically, they could be transformative in speeding breeding programs and contributing to food security through providing novel weed control methods. Zhang et ...

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes — What’s The Real Story?

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SPW Staff,  Southeast Product Weekly,  2021.
You’ve heard about the genetically modified mutant mosquitoes being released in the Florida Keys — but what exactly is going on, and how, and why? Basically, researchers in parts of the Florida Keys are releasing male mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to produce ...

Mosquito transgenesis for malaria control

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S. Dong, Y. Dong, M. L. Simões and G. Dimopoulos,  Trends in Parasitology,  2021.
Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases. Because of the ineffectiveness of current malaria-control methods, several novel mosquito vector-based control strategies have been proposed to supplement existing control strategies. Mosquito transgenesis and gene drive have emerged as ...

UF/IFAS Researchers Explain Science Behind Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

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PCT Staff,  Pest Control Technology,  2021.
South Florida residents seeking science-based information about genetically modified mosquitoes can access a new, online resource from University of Florida scientists at the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.“ Genetically Modified Mosquitoes” is the latest ...

Versatile Applications of the CRISPR/Cas Toolkit in Plant Pathology and Disease Management

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M. S. Wheatley and Y. N. Yang,  Phytopathology,  111:1080-1090. 2021.
New tools and advanced technologies have played key roles in facilitating basic research in plant pathology and practical approaches for disease management and crop health. Recently. the CRISPR/Cas (clustered regularly interspersed short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated) ...

Cas9-Mediated Gene-Editing in the Black-Legged Tick, Ixodes Scapularis, by Embryo Injection and ReMOT Control.

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A. a. P. Sharma, Michael N. and Reyes, Jeremiah B. and Chana, Randeep and Yim, Won C. and Heu, Chan C. and Kim, Donghun and Chaverra-Rodriguez, Duverney and Rasgon, Jason L. and Harrell, Robert A. and Nuss, Andrew B. and Gulia-Nuss, Monika,,  Cell Reports,  2021.
Despite their capacity to acquire and pass on an array of debilitating pathogens, research on ticks has lagged behind other arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes, largely because of a lack of genetic and molecular tools. CRISPR-Cas9 is transforming non-model organism research; ...

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

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E. P. Caragata, Y. Lee and E. A. Buckner,  UF IFAS Extension Service,  2021.
Genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes are controversial, partly because of misinformation. This publication provides science-based information about GM mosquitoes to the public and anyone involved in mosquito control. It explains what GM mosquitoes are and why they are being ...

Sustainable Food Production: The Contribution of Genome Editing in Livestock

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A. Menchaca,  Sustainability,  13. 2021.
This article is focused on the scope and perspectives for the application of this technology, which includes improving production traits, enhancing animal welfare through adaptation and resilience, conferring resistance to infectious diseases, and suppressing pests and invasive ...

CRISPR-mediated knock-in of transgenes into the malaria vector Anopheles funestus

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C. Quinn, A. Anthousi, C. Wondji and T. Nolan,  G3 Genes Genomes Genetics,  11. 2021.
The ability to introduce mutations, or transgenes, of choice to precise genomic locations has revolutionized our ability to understand how genes and organisms work. In many mosquito species that are vectors of various human diseases, the advent of CRISPR genome editing tools has ...

New CRISPR Tools Can Help Contain Mosquito Disease Transmission

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Anonymous,  labcompare,  2021.
Scientists have now developed several genetic editing tools that help pave the way to an eventual gene drive designed to stop Culex mosquitoes from spreading disease. As detailed in the journal Nature Communications, Xuechun Feng, Valentino Gantz and their colleagues at Harvard ...

Researchers Create New CRISPR Tools to Help Contain Mosquito Disease Transmission

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M. Aguilera,  UC San Diego News Center,  2021.
Much less genetic engineering has been devoted to Culex genus mosquitoes, which spread devastating afflictions stemming from West Nile virus—the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States—as well as other viruses such as the Japanese encephalitis ...

New CRISPR tools help contain mosquito disease transmission: Genetics toolkit targets less researched Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and avian malaria.

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University of California - San Diego,  ScienceDaily,  2021.
Since the onset of the CRISPR genetic editing revolution, scientists have been working to leverage the technology in the development of gene drives that target pathogen-spreading mosquitoes such as Anopheles and Aedes species, which spread malaria, dengue and other ...

Optimized CRISPR tools and site-directed transgenesis towards gene drive development in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes

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X. Feng, V. López Del Amo, E. Mameli, M. Lee, A. L. Bishop, N. Perrimon and V. M. Gantz,  Nature Communications,  12:2960. 2021.
Culex mosquitoes are a global vector for multiple human and animal diseases, including West Nile virus, lymphatic filariasis, and avian malaria, posing a constant threat to public health, livestock, companion animals, and endangered birds. While rising insecticide resistance has ...

Genetic Manipulation of Ticks: A Paradigm Shift in Tick and Tick-Borne Diseases Research

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A. Nuss, A. Sharma and M. Gulia-Nuss,  Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology,  11:7. 2021.
Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods that are distributed worldwide and are one of the most important vectors of pathogens affecting humans and animals. Despite the growing burden of tick-borne diseases, research on ticks has lagged behind other arthropod vectors, such as ...

Introduction of a cold sensitivity-conferring mutation into the RTA-Bddsx hybrid system of Bactrocera dorsalis for establishment of a thermally controllable homozygous line

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S. M. Dai, C. Y. Huang and C. Chang,  Pest Management Science,  7. 2021.
BACKGROUND For efficient control of the economically important fruit pest Bactrocera dorsalis, a hybrid system combining ricin toxicity and sex-related alternative splicing of the doublesex gene has been developed. This system exhibits the expected female-specific lethal effect; ...

CRISPR-mediated knock-in of transgenes into the malaria vector Anopheles funestus

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C. Quinn, A. Anthousi, C. Wondji and T. Nolan,  bioRxiv,  2021.03.31.437891. 2021.
We describe herein an optimised transformation system based on the germline delivery of CRISPR components that allows efficient cleavage of a previously validated genomic site and preferential repair of these cut sites via homology-directed repair (HDR), which allows introduction ...

Ethics of Genome Editing

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European Group on Ethics,  European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies,  2021.
This Opinion addresses the profound ethical questions raised and revived by them. It analyses various domains of application, from human health to animal experimentation, from livestock breeding to crop variety and to gene drives. With its wide view across areas, it identifies ...

Genetically Encoded CRISPR components Yield Efficient Gene Editing in the Invasive Pest, Drosophila suzukii

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N. P. Kandul, E. J. Belikoff, J. Liu, A. Buchman, F. Li, A. Yamamoto, T. Yang, I. Shriner, M. J. Scott and O. Akbari,  bioRxiv,  2021.03.15.435483. 2021.
Here we have developed transgenic strains that encode three different terminators and four different promoters to express Cas9 in both the soma and/or germline of SWD. The Cas9 lines were evaluated through genetic crossing to transgenic lines that encode single guide RNAs ...

New Pesticides Will Modify Insect Genes: What Could Go Wrong?

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Food Tank,  EcoWatch,  2021.
Farmers across the U.S. could soon fill their pesticide spray tanks with a substance known as interfering RNA (RNAi). (RNA is a molecule similar to DNA.) Insects that are exposed to it — either by eating crops sprayed with the substance or by landing on a crop and absorbing it ...

femaleless Controls Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation Pathways in Females of Anopheles Mosquitoes

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E. Krzywinska, L. Ferretti, J. Li, J.-C. Li, C.-H. Chen and J. Krzywinski,  Current Biology,  31:1084-1091.e4. 2021.
Here we show that in the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, a gene, which likely arose in the Anopheles lineage and which we call femaleless (fle), controls sex determination in females by regulating splicing of dsx and fruitless (fru; another terminal gene within a ...

Genetically modified mosquitoes for better health

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D. Devis,  COSMOS,  2021.
One method of preventing these mosquito-born diseases is to use insecticides to kill the mozzies and remove them, but sometimes this only works as a short term solution, or has unintended devasting effects on the ecosystem. Another method for decreasing the number of ...

Quantifying the risk of vector-borne disease transmission attributable to genetically modified vectors

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G. R. Hosack, A. Ickowicz and K. R. Hayes,  Royal Society Open Science,  8:201525. 2021.
The relative risk of disease transmission caused by the potential release of transgenic vectors, such as through sterile insect technique or gene drive systems, is assessed with comparison with wild-type vectors. The probabilistic risk framework is demonstrated with an assessment ...

Population genomics of invasive rodents on islands: Genetic consequences of colonization and prospects for localized synthetic gene drive

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K. P. Oh, A. B. Shiels, L. Shiels, D. V. Blondel, K. J. Campbell, J. R. Saah, A. L. Lloyd, P. Q. Thomas, F. Gould, Z. Abdo, J. R. Godwin and A. J. Piaggio,  Evolutionary Applications,  2021.
Here we used pooled whole-genome sequencing of invasive mouse (Mus musculus) populations on four islands along with paired putative source populations to test genetic predictions of island colonization and characterize locally fixed Cas9 genomic targets. Patterns of variation ...

Emergent challenges for CRISPR: biosafety, biosecurity, patenting, and regulatory issues

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Braddick, D. , and Ramarohetra, R. F.,  Genome Engineering Via Crispr-Cas9 System,  2021.
The recent advancements of CRISPR-Cas technologies have transformed this simple and efficient gene editing technique into an extraordinarily powerful tool. The most anticipated applications could create novel therapeutics against mankind's most serious afflictions and help ...

Optimized CRISPR tools and site-directed transgenesis in Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes for gene drive development

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X. Feng, V. Lopez Del Amo, E. Mameli, M. Lee, A. L. Bishop, N. Perrimon and V. M. Gantz,  bioRxiv,  2021.02.10.430702. 2021.
Here, we developed a Culex-specific Cas9/gRNA expression toolkit and used site-directed homology-based transgenesis to generate and validate a Culex quinquefasciatus Cas9-expressing line. We showed that gRNA scaffold variants improve transgenesis efficiency in both Culex and ...

Assisting Evolution: How Far Should We Go to Help Species Adapt?

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E. 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

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E. 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 ...

In Our Image: The Ethics of CRISPR Genome Editing

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J. C. Eissenberg,  Biomolecular Concepts,  12:1-7. 2021.
Here, I discuss the ethics surrounding the transformative CRISPR/Cas9mediated genome editing technology in the contexts of human genome editing to eradicate genetic disease and of gene drive technology to eradicate animal vectors of human disease.

Mosquitoes genetically modified to be resistant to Zika

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Staff,  Lab+Life Scientist,  2021.
Researchers have wrestled with different strategies for controlling the spread of Zika virus, which is transmitted to humans from female mosquito bites. One approach, which has been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency, will see more than 750 million genetically ...

RNAi-based products: A sustainable alternative to hazardous pesticides

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Ghent University,  Phys Org,  2021.
RNAi-based biocontrol is a great alternative to hazardous pesticides and can contribute towards reversing the alarming decline in farmland birds and beneficial insects (especially pollinating ones). RNAi is a well-known natural biological process in most

Genetically-modified mosquitoes key to stopping Zika virus spread

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University of Missouri,  Medical Xpress,  2021.
Alexander Franz, an associate professor in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, collaborated with researchers at Colorado State University by using CRISPR gene-editing technology to produce mosquitoes that are unable to replicate Zika virus and therefore cannot infect a human ...

The Antiviral Small-Interfering RNA Pathway Induces Zika Virus Resistance in Transgenic Aedes aegypti

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A. E. Williams, I. Sanchez-Vargas, W. R. Reid, J. Y. Lin, A. W. E. Franz and K. E. Olson,  Viruses,  12:18. 2020.
We used CRISPR/Cas9 to re-target a previously characterized locus (Chr2:321382225) and engineered mosquitoes expressing an inverted repeat (IR) dsRNA against the NS3/4A region of the ZIKV genome. Small RNA analysis revealed that the IR effector triggered the mosquito's siRNA ...

A patent review on strategies for biological control of mosquito vector

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K. Parihar, M. Telang and A. Ovhal,  World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology,  36:23. 2020.
This paper presents a comprehensive technology overview of patent documents disclosing biological agents for mosquito control. The patent analysis revealed that comparable number of patent documents were filed in two technology categories: non-recombinant agents and genetically ...

Genetically Engineered Fish: Potential Impacts on Aquaculture, Biodiversity, and the Environment

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R. A. Dunham and B. Su,  GMOs: Implications for Biodiversity Conservation and Ecological Processes,  2020.
Studies on transgenic fish for the aquaculture industry have focused on improving growth rates, enhancing disease resistance, altering body composition, acting as biological factories for medical proteins, and even altering temperature tolerance and coloration. The future impact ...

Mosquito transgenics and courtship songs

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H. Hurd,  BugBitten BMC,  2020.
As a female flies into the swarm she is detected by the sound of her wing beat and males identify females by a phonotactic response to the specific sound frequency produced by her wing beat. A male and female will then attune to each other by altering the frequency of their ...

WHO Refers to GM Mosquitoes as Beneficial Technology

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ISAAA,  Crop Biotech Update,  2020.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released its official statement to clarify its stance on the evaluation and use of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes and its use to control vector-borne diseases (VBD). WHO says it supports the investigation of all potentially beneficial ...

Position of ARRIGE Scientific Committee on Gene Drive

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ARRIGE Scientific Committee on Gene Drive,  ARRIGE Newsletter,  2020.
We are facing a change of paradigm that must lead us to be responsible for altered inheritance and the hybridization between artefacts, considered as natural or artificial, at the very moment when this division itself is blurred by the engineering capacity to act on mutations, ...

Genetic engineering and bacterial pathogenesis against the vectorial capacity of mosquitoes

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M. Qasim, H. M. Xiao, K. He, M. A. A. Omar, F. L. Liu, S. Ahmed and F. Li,  Microbial Pathogenesis,  147:8. 2020.
Here we aimed to focus on the role of bacterial pathogenesis and molecular tactics for the management of mosquitoes and their vectorial capacity.

Global citizen deliberation on genome editing

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J. S. Dryzek, D. Nicol, S. Niemeyer, S. Pemberton, N. Curato, A. Bächtiger, P. Batterham, B. Bedsted, S. Burall, M. Burgess, G. Burgio, Y. Castelfranchi, H. Chneiweiss, G. Church, M. Crossley, J. de Vries, M. Farooque, M. Hammond, B. He, R. Mendonça, J.,  Science,  369:1435. 2020.
Here we show how, as the global governance vacuum is filled, deliberation by a global citizens' assembly should play a role, for legitimate and effective governance.

Maintenance management and eradication of established aquatic invaders

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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 ...

How do you make a gene drive mosquito?

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GeneConvene Virtual Institute,  GeneConvene Global Collaborative,  2020.
This short video explains and illustrates how transgenic mosquitoes are made in the laboratory.  While mosquitoes are the focus of the video, the process shown is used to create transgenic insects of almost any species.

Genome Editing in Food and Farming: Risks and unexpected consequences

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J. Cotter and D. Perls,  Canadian Biotechnology Action Network,  2020.
J. Cotter and D. Perls (2020). Canadian Biotechnology Action Network. In this report, we provide an overview of genome editing techniques being explored in agriculture, and the range of potential unexpected effects that can arise from them. The report draws on recent scientific ...

Socrates Untenured: Ethics, Experts, and the Public in the Synthetic Age

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C. Preston,  ISSUES in Science and Technology,  2020.
C. Preston (2020). Three tools have transformed biotechnology over the past decade and a half. Gene reading has made it possible to quickly sequence the genome of any living creature. Gene synthesis has made it possible to construct DNA sequences in the lab from constituent ...

Genome Editing 2020: Ethics and Human Rights in Germline Editing in Humans and Gene Drives in Mosquitoes

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G. J. Annas,  American Journal of Law and Medicine,  46:143-165. 2020.
G. J. Annas (2020). American Journal of Law and Medicine. doi: 10.1177/0098858820933492. I begin with a discussion of so far disastrously unsuccessful attempts to regulate germline editing in humans, including a summary of the first application of germline genome editing in ...

RNAi: Applications in Vertebrate Pest Management

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K. E. Horak,  Trends in Biotechnology,  38:1200-1202. 2020.
the development of novel control technologies must be focused on species specificity and low environmental impact. Sequence-specific gene silencing via RNAi holds promise for effective management of pest wildlife.

Bioethical issues in genome editing by CRISPR-Cas9 technology

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F. B. Ayanoglu, A. E. Elcin and Y. M. Elcin,  Turkish Journal of Biology,  44:110-120. 2020.
Genome editing technologies have led to fundamental changes in genetic science. Among them, CRISPR-Cas9 technology particularly stands out due to its advantages such as easy handling, high accuracy, and low cost. It has made a quick introduction in fields related to humans, ...

Auditing preparedness for vector control field studies

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C. M. Collins and M. M. Quinlan,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  102:707-710. 2020.
The value of baseline entomological data to any future area-wide release campaign relies on the application of consistent methods to produce results comparable across different times and places in a stepwise progression to larger releases. Traditionally, standard operating ...

Genome engineering in insects: focus on the CRISPR/Cas9 system

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Hillary, V. Edwin Ceasar, Stanislaus Antony Ignacimuthu, S.,  Genome Engineering via CRISPR-Cas9 System,  2020.
Genome engineering is a precise tool used to alter the genome of desired organism. Zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), and the CRISPR-associated RNA guided ...

Engineering Bugs, Resurrecting Species: The Wild World of Synthetic Biology for Conservation

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P. 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 ...

Regulation of GM Organisms for Invasive Species Control

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H. 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 ...

Beyond Mendelian genetics: Anticipatory biomedical ethics and policy implications for the use of CRISPR together with gene drive in humans.

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M. W. Nestor and R. L. Wilson,  Journal of Bioethical Inquiry,  2020:1-12. 2020.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) genome editing has already reinvented the direction of genetic and stem cell research. For more complex diseases it allows scientists to simultaneously create multiple genetic changes to a single cell. ...

Development of genetic control strategies for insect pests using CRISPR/Cas9 Développement de méthodes de lutte génétique contre de l’insecte nuisible basé sur le system CRISPR/Cas9

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E. Green,  Université de Strasbourg,  2019.
nsect pest control remains an important economic, environmental, and public health challenge. CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive (GD) is a novel genetic control strategy. GDs are genetic systems that can rapidly invade a population. This manuscript presents my efforts to develop gene drives ...

Effects of a male meiotic driver on male and female transcriptomes in the house mouse

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A. Lindholm, A. Sutter, S. Kunzel, D. Tautz and H. Rehrauer,  Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences,  286:1-8. 2019.
Not all genetic loci follow Mendel's rules, and the evolutionary consequences of this are not yet fully known. Genomic conflict involving multiple loci is a likely outcome, as restoration of Mendelian inheritance patterns will be selected for, and sexual conflict may also arise ...

What is genome editing?

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NHGRI,  NHGRI,  2019.
Genome editing is a method that lets scientists change the DNA of many organisms, including plants, bacteria, and animals. Editing DNA can lead to changes in physical traits, like eye color, and disease risk. Scientists use different technologies to do this.

Improving plant-resistance to insect-pests and pathogens: The new opportunities through targeted genome editing

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D. S. Bisht, V. Bhatia and R. Bhattacharya,  Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology,  96:65-76. 2019.
The advantages of high input agriculture are fading away due to degenerating soil health and adverse effects of climate change. Safeguarding crop yields in the changing environment and dynamics of pest and pathogens, has posed new challenges to global agriculture. Thus, ...

A potential new tool for the toolbox: assessing gene drives for eradicating invasive rodent populations

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K. 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 ...

CRISPR-Cas9. The greatest advancement in genetic edition techniques requires an ethical reflection

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Gomez-Tatay, LA, J.,  Cuadernos De Bioetica,  30:171-185. 2019.
The adaptation of the CRISPR system as a genetic editing tool has led to a revolution in many fields of application, as this technique is considerably faster, easier to perform and more efficient than predecessor techniques. However, some of these applications raise objective ...

CRISPR Explained

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Mayo Clinic,  2018.
A short video that simply explains what CRISPR is and how it is used for gene editing. Simple language and highly accessible.

Gene Editing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

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J. Oliver,  HBO,  2018.
Scientists are developing new ways to alter the genetic code of living organisms. John Oliver explores the risks, rewards, and wolf-related hazards of gene editing.

What is CRISPR?

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A. Vidyasagar,  LiveScience,  2018.
CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function. Its many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving ...

Economic issues to consider for gene drives

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Mitchell, 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 ...

The use of gene editing to create gene drives for pest control in New Zealand

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Royal Society Te Apārangi Gene Editing Panel,  Royal Society of New Zealand,  2017.
to explore the implications of gene editing technology for New Zealand, the Royal Society Te Apārangi has convened a multidisciplinary panel of some of New Zealand’s leading experts to consider the social, cultural, legal and economic implications of revolutionary ...

Genome editing: scientific opportunities, public interests and policy options in the European Union

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EASAC,  European Academies Science Advisory Council,  2017.
In many of the areas in which EASAC, the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council, works, where a large and solid body of knowledge is needed to inform the action of our societies, it is important to recognise that there is an intimate mix of science and values involved in ...

The End of the GMO? Genome Editing, Gene Drives and New Frontiers of Plant Technology

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K. L. Hefferon and R. J. Herring,  Review of Agrarian Studies,  7. 2017.
mprovements to agriculture will constitute one of the world’s greatest challenges in the coming century. Political and social controversies, as well as complications of plant breeding, intellectual property, and regulation, have compromised the promised impact of genetically ...

Regulatory experience and challenges for the release of GM insects

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Beech, C,  Journal Fur Verbraucherschutz Und Lebensmittelsicherheit-Journal of Consumer Protection and Food Safety,  9:S71-S76. 2014.
Genetically modified (GM) insects are a potentially valuable new tool for the biological control of insect pests of humans, animals and plants. Considerable progress has been made recently in transfer of GM insects from the laboratory to release and evaluation in the environment. ...

Malaria Control with Genetically Manipulated Insect Vectors

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L. Alphey, C. B. Beard, P. Billingsley, M. Coetzee, A. Crisanti, C. Curtis, P. Eggleston, C. Godfray, J. Hemingway, M. Jacobs-Lorena, A. A. James, F. C. Kafatos, L. G. Mukwaya, M. Paton, J. R. Powell, W. Schneider, T. W. Scott, B. Sina, R. Sinden, S. Sink,  Science,  298:119. 2002.
At a recent workshop, experts discussed the benefits, risks, and research priorities associated with using genetically manipulated insects in the control of vector-borne diseases.

Mariner transposition and transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

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C. J. Coates, N. Jasinskiene, L. Miyashiro and A. A. James,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  95:3748-3751. 1998.
The mariner transposable element is capable of interplasmid transposition in the embryonic soma of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. To determine if this demonstrated mobility could be utilized to genetically transform the mosquito, a modified mariner element marked with ...

Stable transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, with the Hermes element from the housefly

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N. Jasinskiene, C. J. Coates, M. Q. Benedict, A. J. Cornel, C. S. Rafferty, A. A. James and F. H. Collins,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,  95:3743-3747. 1998.
The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the world's most important vector of yellow fever and dengue viruses, Work is currently in progress to control the transmission of these viruses by genetically altering the capacity of wild Ae, aegypti populations to support virus replication. The ...

Gene transfer into the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata, using a Drosophila hydei transposable element.

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T. G. Loukeris, I. Livadaras, B. Arca, S. Zabalou and C. Savakis,  Science,  270:2002-2005. 1995.
Exogenous functional DNA was introduced into the germline chromosomes of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata with a germline transformation system based on the transposable element Minos from Drosophila hydei. Transformants were identified as phenotypic ...

Genetic-transformation of Drosophila with transposable element vectors

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G. M. Rubin and A. C. Spradling,  Science,  218:348-353. 1982.
Exogenous DNA sequences were introduced into the Drosophila germ line. A rosy transposon (ry1), constructed by inserting a chromosomal DNA fragment containing the wild-type rosy gene into a P transposable element, transformed germ line cells in 20 to 50 percent of the injected ...