Keywords: Genomics

A meiotic driver hijacks an epigenetic reader to disrupt mitosis in noncarrier offspring

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Yu Hua, Jianxiu Zhang, et al.,  PNAS,  121. 2024.
Killer meiotic drivers (KMDs) are selfish genetic elements that distort Mendelian inheritance by selectively killing meiotic products lacking the KMD element, thereby promoting their own propagation. Although KMDs have been found in diverse eukaryotes, only a limited number of ...

Supergenes as drivers of ant evolution

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M. Chapuisat,  Myrmecological News,  33:1-18. 2023.
Ants show striking diversity in social organization, raising major questions on the proximate and ultimate causes of such variation. The shift from one-queen (= monogyne) societies to multi-queen (= polygyne) societies has long been viewed as a phenotypically plastic response to ...

How genomics can help biodiversity conservation

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K. Theissinger, C. Fernandes, G. Formenti, I. Bista, P. R. Berg, C. Bleidorn, A. Bombarely, A. Crottini, G. R. Gallo, J. A. Godoy, S. Jentoft, J. Malukiewicz, A. Mouton, R. A. Oomen, S. Paez, P. J. Palsbøll, C. Pampoulie, M. J. Ruiz-López, S. Secomandi, H,  Trends in Genetics,  2023.
Genomics provides effective tools to characterize biodiversity, but the full implementation of genomic techniques in practical conservation is still limited. We review some of the main approaches in biodiversity genomics available to conservationists and genomicists.High-quality, ...

Cryptic recessive lethality of a supergene controlling social organization in ants

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P. Blacher, O. De Gasperin, G. Grasso, S. Sarton-Lohéac, R. Allemann and M. Chapuisat,  Molecular Ecology,  2022.
Supergenes are clusters of linked loci that control complex phenotypes, such as alternate forms of social organization in ants. Explaining the long-term maintenance of supergenes is challenging, particularly when the derived haplotype lacks homozygous lethality and causes gene ...

“Selfish Genetic Elements” – Supergene Wreaks Havoc in a Genome

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University of Rochester,  SciTechDaily,  2022.
“Selfish genetic elements” litter the human genome. They do not seem to benefit their hosts but instead seek only to propagate themselves. These selfish genetic elements can wreak havoc. For example, they can distort sex ratios, impair fertility, cause harmful mutations, and ...

Iterative evolution of supergene-based social polymorphism in ants

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T. Kay, Q. Helleu and L. Keller,  Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci,  377:20210196. 2022.
Species commonly exhibit alternative morphs, with individual fate being determined during development by either genetic factors, environmental cues or a combination thereof. Ants offer an interesting case study because many species are polymorphic in their social structure. Some ...

Unbalanced selection: the challenge of maintaining a social polymorphism when a supergene is selfish

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A. G. Tafreshi, S. P. Otto and M. Chapuisat,  Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci,  377:20210197. 2022.
Supergenes often have multiple phenotypic effects, including unexpected detrimental ones, because recombination suppression maintains associations among co-adapted alleles but also allows the accumulation of recessive deleterious mutations and selfish genetic elements. Yet, ...

Supergene potential of a selfish centromere

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F. Finseth, K. Brown, A. Demaree and L. Fishman,  Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci,  377:20210208. 2022.
Selfishly evolving centromeres bias their transmission by exploiting the asymmetry of female meiosis and preferentially segregating to the egg. Such female meiotic drive systems have the potential to be supergenes, with multiple linked loci contributing to drive costs or ...

Epistatic selection on a selfish Segregation Distorter supergene: drive, recombination, and genetic load

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B. Navarro-Dominguez, C.-H. Chang, C. L. Brand, C. A. Muirhead, D. C. Presgraves and A. M. Larracuente,  eLife,  11:e78981. 2022.
In this work, we investigate the evolution and genomic consequences of an autosomal, multilocus, male meiotic drive system, Segregation Distorter (SD) in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In African populations, the predominant SD chromosome variant, SD-Mal, is ...

Wolbachia endosymbionts in two Anopheles species indicates independent acquisitions and lack of prophage elements

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S. Quek, L. Cerdeira, C. L. Jeffries, S. Tomlinson, T. Walker, G. L. Hughes and E. Heinz,  Microbial Genomics,  8. 2022.
Wolbachia is a genus of obligate bacterial endosymbionts that infect a diverse range of arthropod species as well as filarial nematodes, with its single described species, Wolbachia pipientis, divided into several ‘supergroups’ based on multilocus sequence typing. Wolbachia ...

New developments in the field of genomic technologies and their relevance to conservation management

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G. Segelbacher, M. Bosse, P. Burger, P. Galbusera, J. A. Godoy, P. Helsen, C. Hvilsom, L. Iacolina, A. Kahric, C. Manfrin, M. Nonic, D. Thizy, I. Tsvetkov, N. Veličković, C. Vilà, S. M. Wisely and E. Buzan,  Conservation Genetics,  2021.
Recent technological advances in the field of genomics offer conservation managers and practitioners new tools to explore for conservation applications. Many of these tools are well developed and used by other life science fields, while others are still in development. ...

Positive selection and horizontal gene transfer in the genome of a male-killing Wolbachia

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T. Hill, R. L. Unckless and J. I. Perlmutter,  Molecular Biology and Evolution,  2021.
Wolbachia are a genus of widespread bacterial endosymbionts in which some strains can hijack or manipulate arthropod host reproduction. Male killing is one such manipulation in which these maternally transmitted bacteria benefit surviving daughters in part by removing competition ...

The Promise of Genetics and Genomics for Improving Invasive Mammal Management on Islands

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B. T. Burgess, R. L. Irvine, G. R. Howald and M. A. Russello,  Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution,  9. 2021.
Invasive species are major contributors to global biodiversity decline. Invasive mammalian species (IMS), in particular, have profound negative effects in island systems that contain disproportionally high levels of species richness and endemism. The eradication and control of ...

Improving mosquito control strategies with population genomics

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T. L. Schmidt, N. M. Endersby-Harshman and A. A. Hoffmann,  Trends in Parasitology,  37:907-921. 2021.
Mosquito control strategies increasingly apply knowledge from population genomics research. This review highlights recent applications to three research domains: mosquito invasions, insecticide resistance evolution, and rear and release programs. Current research trends follow ...

Detailed genome map of malaria vector

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The Hindu,  Aspirant World,  2021.
In order to engineer advanced forms of defence against malaria transmission, including targeted CRISPR and gene drive–based strategies, scientists require intricate knowledge of the genomes of vector mosquitoes. CRISPR technology is a gene-editing tool which allows ...

Researchers Unveil Detailed Genome of Invasive Malaria Mosquito

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M. Aguilera,  UC San Diego News Center,  2021.
Mosquito-transmitted malaria remains the number one worldwide killer among vector-borne diseases, claiming more than 400,000 human lives in 2019. In order to engineer advanced forms of defense against malaria transmission, including targeted CRISPR and gene drive-based ...

Hidden genomic features of an invasive malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi, revealed by a chromosome-level genome assembly

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M. Chakraborty, A. Ramaiah, A. Adolfi, P. Halas, B. Kaduskar, L. T. Ngo, S. Jayaprasad, K. Paul, S. Whadgar, S. Srinivasan, S. Subramani, E. Bier, A. A. James and J. J. Emerson,  BMC Biology,  19:28. 2021.
The mosquito Anopheles stephensi is a vector of urban malaria in Asia that recently invaded Africa. Studying the genetic basis of vectorial capacity and engineering genetic interventions are both impeded by limitations of a vector’s genome assembly. The existing assemblies of ...

Self-Deleting Genes Project To Tackle Mosquito-Borne Diseases

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D. Ozdemir,  INTERESTING ENGINEERING,  2021.
Did you know that mosquitoes kill at least 725,000 persons every year? They truly are one of the world's deadliest animals which is the reason why scientists from all around are trying to find new ways of dealing with them. Controlling mosquito populations and preventing them ...

Edit, undo: Temporary gene editing could help solve the mosquito problem

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L. Dormehl,  digitaltrends,  2020.
But if SyFy original movies have taught us anything, it’s that genetically tweaking organisms and then releasing them can… well, not go quite according to plan.With that in mind, a new Texas A&M AgriLife Research project seeks to test out genetic modifications of mosquitos ...

Self-deleting genes promise risk-free genetic engineering of mosquitoes

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D. Quick,  New Atlas,  2020.
A new project by Texas A&M AgriLife Research is looking to enable "test runs" of genetic changes to mosquitoes that are automatically deleted. Various angles of attack using genetic engineering to combat mosquitoes have been pursued in recent years, including modifying them so ...

Self-deleting genes to be tested as part of mosquito population control concept

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B. Hays,  UPI,  2020.
Scientists at Texas A&M have developed a new technique for altering the genes of mosquitoes -- the new technology will cause genetic changes to self-delete from the mosquitoes' genome. Thanks to the breakthrough, described Monday in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal ...

$3.9M project on self-deleting genes takes aim at mosquito-borne diseases

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O. Kuchment,  AGRILIFE Today,  2020.
To control mosquito populations and prevent them from transmitting diseases such as malaria, many researchers are pursuing strategies in mosquito genetic engineering. A new Texas A&M AgriLife Research project aims to enable temporary “test runs” of proposed genetic changes in ...

Self-deleting genes tested as part of the concept of mosquito population control

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charlottelarson,  NEWYORK NEWS TIMES,  2020.
Most genetic engineering strategies designed to control mosquito populations, and their ability to spread diseases such as malaria, require gene editing to be combined with gene drives. Gene drives allow altered DNA to spread rapidly throughout the population.

Making gene drive biodegradable

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J. Zapletal, N. Najmitabrizi, M. Erraguntla, M. A. Lawley, K. M. Myles and Z. N. Adelman,  Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,  376:20190804. 2020.
Here, we consider the inclusion of self-elimination mechanisms into the design of homing-based gene drive transgenes. This approach not only caused the excision of the gene drive transgene, but also generates a transgene-free allele resistant to further action by the gene drive. ...

Study Could Lead to Power Over Parasite

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D. Shore,  2020.
Scientists have long had a name for a gruesome insect that feeds on live flesh of warm-blooded mammals: C. hominivorax, Latin for “man eater.” But now, they have the parasite’s number. In a paper published this week in the journal Communications Biology, researchers from ...

Genomic analyses of a livestock pest, the New World screwworm, find potential targets for genetic control programs

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M. J. Scott, J. B. Benoit, R. J. Davis, S. T. Bailey, V. Varga, E. O. Martinson, P. V. Hickner, Z. Syed, G. A. Cardoso, T. T. Torres, M. T. Weirauch, E. H. Scholl, A. M. Phillippy, A. Sagel, M. Vasquez, G. Quintero and S. R. Skoda,  Nature Communications,  3:424. 2020.
We identify and analyze the expression of genes that are likely important for host-seeking behavior (chemosensory), development of larvae in open wounds in warm-blooded animals (heat shock protein, immune response) and for building transgenic strains for genetic control programs ...

Maternal effect killing by a supergene controlling ant social organization

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A. Avril, J. Purcell, S. Béniguel and M. Chapuisat,  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  2020.
Supergenes are clusters of linked loci producing complex alternative phenotypes. In a series of experiments, we demonstrate that a supergene controlling ant social organization distorts Mendel’s laws to enhance its transmission to adult offspring. One supergene haplotype is ...

Selfish genes and sexual selection: the impact of genomic parasites on host reproduction

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N. Wedell,  Journal of Zoology,  311:1-12. 2020.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) such as replicating mobile elements, segregation distorters and maternally inherited endosymbionts, bias their transmission success relative to the rest of the genome to increase in representation in subsequent generations. As such, they generate ...

A bigger toolbox: Biotechnology in biodiversity conservation

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R. T. Corlett,  Trends in Biotechnology,  35:55-65. 2017.
Conservation biology needs a bigger toolbox to meet unprecedented challenges. Genomics, fueled by declining sequencing costs, offers novel tools with increased precision for genetic questions previously answered with a few molecular markers, as well as completely new ...

A transatlantic perspective on 20 emerging issues in biological engineering

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Wintle, BCB, C. R.; Rhodes, C.; Molloy, J. C.; Millett, P.; Adam, L.; Breitling, R.; Carlson, R.; Casagrande, R.; Dando, M.; Doubleday, R.; Drexler, E.; Edwards, B.; Ellis, T.; Evans, N. G.; Hammond, R.; Haseloff, J.; Kahl, L.; Kuiken, T.; Lichman, B. R.; Matthewman, C. A.; Napier, J. A.; OhEigeartaigh, S. S.; Patron, N. J.; Perello, E.; Shapira, P.; Tait, J.; Takano, E.; Sutherland, W. J.,  eLife,  6:21. 2017.
Advances in biological engineering are likely to have substantial impacts on global society. To explore these potential impacts we ran a horizon scanning exercise to capture a range of perspectives on the opportunities and risks presented by biological engineering. We first ...

The Trojan Female Technique for pest control: a candidate mitochondrial mutation confers low male fertility across diverse nuclear backgrounds in Drosophila melanogaster

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D. K. Dowling, D. M. Tompkins and N. J. Gemmell,  Evolutionary Applications,  8:8710880. 2015.
The Trojan Female Technique (TFT) was recently proposed as a prospective approach to biological pest control. However, applicability of the TFT relies on mitochondrial mutations whose male-sterilizing effects are general across nuclear genomic contexts. We test this assumption, ...

Rapid evolution of yeast centromeres in the absence of drive

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Bensasson, DZ, M.; Burt, A.; Koufopanou, V.,  Genetics,  178:2161-2167. 2008.
To find the most rapidly evolving regions in the yeast genome we compared most of chromosome III from three closely related lineages of the wild yeast Saccharomyces paradoxits. Unexpectedly, the centromere appears to be the fastest-evolving part of the chromosome, evolving even ...

Sterility introduced by release of genetically altered males to a domestic population of Aedes aegypti at the Kenya coast

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P. T. McDonald, W. Hausermann and N. Lorimer,  Am J Trop Med Hyg,  26:553-61. 1977.
The release of males heterozygous for one or two sex-linked translocations was effective in introducing a high level of sterility into a domestic population of Aedes aegypti at a Rabai village. The effect of the releases continued for several weeks after the release period. Male ...

Genetic control of insect populations: I. Cage studies of chromosome replacement by compound autosomes in Drosophila melanogaste

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M. Fitz-Earle, D. G. Holm and D. T. Suzuki,  Genetics,  74:461-475. 1973.
A genetic method for insect control was evaluated using the test organism, Drosophila melanogaster. The technique involved the displacement under a system of continuous reproduction, of standard strains by those carrying compound autosomes. The eradication of the replacements ...

Changing population structure through the use of compound chromosomes

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D. Childress,  Genetics,  72:183-186. 1972.
Theoretical calculations and population cage data are presented to illustrate the use of compound chromosomes to change the genetic structure of insect populations.

Chromosome rearrangements for the control of insect pests

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G. G. Foster, M. J. Whitten, T. Prout and R. Gill,  Science,  176:875-880. 1972.
Over several years some biologists have been interested in the possibilities of employing genetic techniques in the control of insect pests. One idea has been to introduce in the natural population genotypes which could subsequently facilitate control, or which might render the ...

Insect control by genetic manipulation of natural populations

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M. J. Whitten,  Science,  171:682. 1971.
The possible use of chromosome rearrangements is considered as a means for introducing genes into insect populations for their own control. The release of laboratory-constructed strains differing from the field population for a number of chromosome interchanges should create an ...

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

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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, ...