Keywords: Population genetics/dynamics
Parental-effect gene-drive elements under partial selfing, or why do Caenorhabditis genomes have hyperdivergent regions?
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Other invertebrates, Population genetics/dynamicsMatthew V Rockman, Genetics, 2024.
Self-fertile Caenorhabditis nematodes carry a surprising number of Medea elements, alleles that act in heterozygous mothers and cause death or developmental delay in offspring that don’t inherit them. At some loci, both alleles in a cross operate as independent Medeas, ...
Identification of novel genes responsible for a pollen killer present in local natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana
Tags: CRISPR, Ecology, Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elementsAnthony Ricou, Matthieu Simon, et al., bioRxiv, 2024.
Certain genetic elements are qualified as selfish because they favor their transmission to the progeny during reproduction to the detriment of gametes that do not carry them. These elements are widespread in fungi as well as in plants or in animals, and they are made up of two or ...
Understanding gene flow and its implications for gene drive research
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive, Population genetics/dynamicsOutreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024.
Gene flow is the transfer of genetic information from one population to another. Also known as gene transfer or gene migration, it plays a crucial role in the evolution and adaptation of species. Understanding the dynamics of gene flow is essential to assess the potential risks ...
Population dynamics in spatial suppression gene drive models and the effect of resistance, density dependence, and life history
Tags: Gene drive, Population genetics/dynamics, Population suppressionXinyue Zhang, Weitang Sun, Isabel K. Kim, Philipp W. Messer, Jackson Champer, bioRxiv, 2024.
Due to their super-Mendelian inheritance, gene drive systems have the potential to provide revolutionary solutions to critical public health and environmental problems. For suppression drives, however, spatial structure can cause “chasing” population dynamics that may ...
Wolbachia symbionts control sex in a parasitoid wasp using a horizontally acquired gene
Tags: Other arthropods, Other Symbionts, Population genetics/dynamics, Population suppressionLi C, Li CQ, Chen ZB, Liu BQ, Sun X, Wei KH, Li CY, Luan JB., Current Biology, 2024.
Host reproduction can be manipulated by bacterial symbionts in various ways. Parthenogenesis induction is the most effective type of reproduction manipulation by symbionts for their transmission. Insect sex is determined by regulation of doublesex (dsx) splicing through ...
Comparing the long-term persistence of different Wolbachia strains after the release of bacteria-carrying mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Population genetics/dynamics, WolbachiaJose L. Orozco-Gonzales, Antone dos Santos Benedito, Daiver Cardona-Salgado et al., Mathematical Biosciences, 372. 2024.
This paper proposes a bidimensional modeling framework for Wolbachia invasion, assuming imperfect maternal transmission, incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility, and direct infection loss due to thermal stress. Our model adapts to various Wolbachia strains and retains all ...
Meeting Abstracts from the 5th B Chromosome Conference
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Population genetics/dynamicsAnonymous, BMC Proceedings, 17. 2023.
During preparations for the 5th B-Chromosome Conference (5BCC), rapid and significant progress was observed in the germ-restricted chromosomes (GRCs) study. GRCs are additional chromosomes found only in germ cells and are eliminated from somatic cells in many avian and dipteran ...
Anopheles gambiae on remote islands in the Indian Ocean: origins and prospects for malaria elimination by genetic modification of extant populations
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene editing, Malaria, Population genetics/dynamicsDitter, 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. ...
Gene drives for the extinction of wild metapopulations
Tags: Population genetics/dynamics, Synthetic biologyJason W. Olejarz, Martin A. Nowak, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2023.
Population-suppressing gene drives may be capable of extinguishing wild populations, with proposed applications in conservation, agriculture, and public health. However, unintended and potentially disastrous consequences of release of drive-engineered individuals are extremely ...
Meiotic drive, postzygotic isolation, and the Snowball Effect
Tags: Population genetics/dynamics, Population modification/replacement, Transmission distortionRobert L. Unckless, bioRxiv, 2023.
As populations diverge, they accumulate incompatibilities which reduce gene flow and facilitate the formation of new species. Simple models suggest that the genes that cause Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities should accumulate at least as fast as the square of the number of ...
Routes of Introduction of Anopheles gambiae Into Remote Islands in the Indian Ocean
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population genetics/dynamics, Risk and safetyR. E. Ditter, M. Campos, M. W. Crepeau, J. Pinto, A. Toilibou, Y. Amina, Y. Lee, A. J. Cornel and G. C. Lanzaro, 2023.
The malaria vector 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 ...
Anti-CRISPR Anopheles mosquitoes inhibit gene drive spread under challenging behavioural conditions in large cages
Tags: Anopheles, CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Population genetics/dynamics, Synthetic biologyA. Simoni, R. D'Amato, C. Taxiarchi, M. Galardini, A. Trusso, R. Minuz, S. Gilli, A. Somerville, D. Shittu, A. Khalil, R. Galizi and R. Muller, Research Square, 2023.
CRISPR-based gene drives have the potential to spread within a population and are considered as promising vector control tools. A doublesex-targeting gene drive was shown effective to suppress laboratory populations in both small and large cages, and it is considered for field ...
Synthetic gene drives as an anthropogenic evolutionary force
Tags: CRISPR, Evolution, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Population genetics/dynamics, Transmission distortionA. D. Cutter, Trends in Genetics, 2023.
Genetic drive represents a fundamental evolutionary force that can exact profound change to the genetic composition of populations by biasing allele transmission. Herein I propose that the use of synthetic homing gene drives, the human-mediated analog of endogenous genetic ...
Horizontal gene transfer from plant to whitefly
Tags: Gene drive, Population genetics/dynamicsT. Islam, R. B. Azad, S. H. Kasfy, A. A. Rahman and T. Z. Khan, Trends in Biotechnology, 2023.
The recent discovery of the horizontal transfer of a toxin-neutralizing gene from plant to whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), a polyphagous insect, sparked a new area of study. In this forum, we discuss some potential biotechnological applications of this newly discovered knowledge in ...
Complicated expansion trajectories of insertion sequences and potential association with horizontal transfer of Wolbachia DNA
Tags: Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elements, WolbachiaY. H. Miao, D. W. Huang and J. H. Xiao, Zoological Research, 44:273-275. 2023.
Insertion sequences (ISs) are the simplest structural transposable elements (TEs) in prokaryotes, consisting only of a transposase coding sequence and its bilateral short terminal inverted repeats. Due to their gradually streamlined genomic construction, TEs rarely exist in the ...
The effect of mating complexity on gene drive dynamics
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Population suppressionP. Verma, R. G. Reeves, S. Simon, M. Otto and C. S. Gokhale, The American Naturalist, 2022.
Gene drive technology promises to deliver on some of the global challenges humanity faces today in health care, agriculture, and conservation. However, there is a limited understanding of the consequences of releasing self-perpetuating transgenic organisms into wild populations ...
Rescue by gene swamping as a gene drive deployment strategy
Tags: Biological control, Containment, Evolution, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Population suppression, Resistance, Risk and safetyK. D. Harris and G. Greenbaum, bioRxiv, 2022.03.08.483503. 2022.
Gene drives are genetic constructs that can spread deleterious alleles with potential application to population suppression of harmful species. Given that a gene drive can potentially spill over to other populations or even other species, control measures and fail-safes ...
Sterile males and females can synergistically suppress wild pests targeted by sterile insect technique
Tags: Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Y. Ikegawa, K. Ito, C. Himuro and A. Honma, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 530. 2021.
We constructed a mathematical model to examine the contribution of sterile males and females to the pest-control effect and the synergy between them. We consider that males seek out and court females in accord with their own female searching ability and preference, and that ...
Fine-scale estimation of key life-history parameters of malaria vectors: implications for next-generation vector control technologies
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population genetics/dynamicsA. L. Morris, A. Ghani and N. Ferguson, Parasites and Vectors, 14:311. 2021.
Mosquito control has the potential to significantly reduce malaria burden on a region, but to influence public health policy must also show cost-effectiveness. Gaps in our knowledge of mosquito population dynamics mean that mathematical modelling of vector control interventions ...
Invasion and maintenance of meiotic drivers in populations of ascomycete fungi
Tags: Evolution, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortionI. Martinossi-Allibert, C. Veller, S. L. Ament-Velasquez, A. A. Vogan, C. Rueffler and H. Johannesson, Evolution, 20. 2021.
Meiotic drivers (MDs) are selfish genetic elements that are able to become overrepresented among the products of meiosis. This transmission advantage makes it possible for them to spread in a population even when they impose fitness costs on their host organisms. Whether an MD ...
Demographic feedbacks can hamper the spatial spread of a gene drive
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, WolbachiaL. Girardin and F. Débarre, arXiv, 2021.
Our results indicate that taking into account the interplay between population dynamics and population genetics might actually be crucial, as it can effectively reverse the direction of the invasion and lead to failure. Our findings can be extended to other bistable systems, such ...
Selfing is the safest sex for Caenorhabditis tropicalis
Tags: Genetic incompatibilities, Other invertebrates, Population genetics/dynamics, Toxin-antidoteL. M. Noble, J. Yuen, L. Stevens, N. D. Moya, R. Persaud, M. Moscatelli, J. L. Jackson, G. Zhang, R. Chitrakar, L. R. Baugh, C. Braendle, E. C. Andersen, H. S. Seidel and M. V. Rockman, eLife, 10:e62587. 2021.
We generated a chromosomal-scale genome for C. tropicalis and surveyed global diversity. Population structure is very strong, and islands of extreme divergence punctuate a genomic background that is highly homogeneous around the globe. Outbreeding depression in the laboratory is ...
Mosquito Sexual Selection and Reproductive Control Programs
Tags: Ecology, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Mosquitoes, Population genetics/dynamics, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionL. J. Cator, C. A. S. Wyer and L. C. Harrington, Trends in Parasitology, 2021.
Recent work has generated many key insights about specific aspects of mating behavior and physiology. Here, we synthesize these findings and classify swarming mosquito systems as polygynous. Male mating success is highly variable in swarms and evidence suggests that it is likely ...
Genetic pest management and the background genetics of release strains
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Pest management, Population genetics/dynamics, Sterile insect technique (SIT), WolbachiaP. T. Leftwich, L. G. Spurgin, T. Harvey-Samuel, C. J. E. Thomas, L. C. Paladino, M. P. Edgington and L. Alphey, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376:20190805. 2020.
We discuss issues around strain selection and the potential consequences of such introgression. We conclude that such introgression is probably harmless in almost all circumstances, and could, in theory, provide specific additional benefits to the release programme. We outline ...
Wolbachia strain wAlbB maintains high density and dengue inhibition following introduction into a field population of Aedes aegypti
Tags: Aedes, Arbovirus, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Dengue, Evolution, Genetic biocontrol, Population genetics/dynamics, WolbachiaN. A. Ahmad, M.-V. Mancini, T. H. Ant, J. Martinez, G. M. R. Kamarul, W. A. Nazni, A. A. Hoffmann and S. P. Sinkins, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376:20190809. 2020.
Here, wAlbB-carrying Ae. aegypti collected from the field 20 months after the cessation of releases showed no reduction in Wolbachia density or tissue distribution changes compared to a wAlbB laboratory colony. The wAlbB strain continued to induce complete unidirectional ...
Polyandry blocks gene drive in a wild house mouse population
Tags: Ecology, Population genetics/dynamics, Rodents, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionA. Manser, B. Konig and A. K. Lindholm, Nature Communications, 11:8. 2020.
Here, we study the impact of polyandry on a well-known gene drive, called t haplotype, in an intensively monitored population of wild house mice. First, we show that house mice are highly polyandrous: 47% of 682 litters were sired by more than one male. Second, we find that ...
X-linked meiotic drive can boost population size and persistence
Tags: Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elements, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionC. Mackintosh, A. Pomiankowski and M. F. Scott, Genetics, 217:11. 2020.
Here, we find general conditions for the spread and fixation of X-linked alleles. Our conditions show that the spread of X-linked alleles depends on sex-specific selection and transmission rather than the time spent in each sex. Applying this logic to meiotic drive, we show that ...
Selfish genetic elements and male fertility
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Fruit fly, Genetic incompatibilities, Population genetics/dynamics, Sex distorter, Transmission distortion, Wolbachia, X chromosomeR. L. Verspoor, T. A. R. Price and N. Wedell, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 375:7. 2020.
Selfish genetic elements (SGEs) are diverse and near ubiquitous in Eukaryotes and can be potent drivers of evolution. Here, we discuss SGEs that specifically act on sperm to gain a transmission advantage to the next generation. The diverse SGEs that affect sperm often impose ...
MGDrivE 2: A simulation framework for gene drive systems incorporating seasonality and epidemiological dynamics
Tags: Ecology, Field trials, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Replicator/site directed nucleaseS. L. Wu, J. B. Bennett, H. M. Sanchez C, A. J. Dolgert, T. M. Leon and J. M. Marshall, bioRxiv, 2020.10.16.343376. 2020.
We present MGDrivE 2 (Mosquito Gene Drive Explorer 2): an extension of and development from the MGDrivE 1 simulation framework that investigates the population dynamics of a variety of gene drive architectures and their spread through spatially-explicit mosquito populations.
Embracing Dynamic Models for Gene Drive Management
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified organisms, Population genetics/dynamics, Regulation, Risk assessmentA. 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.
Suppressing evolution in genetically engineered systems through repeated supplementation
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, ResistanceN. C. Layman, B. M. Tuschhoff, A. J. Basinski, C. H. Remien, J. J. Bull and S. L. Nuismer, Evolutionary Applications, 12. 2020.
Genetically engineered organisms are prone to evolve in response to the engineering. This evolution is often undesirable and can negatively affect the purpose of the engineering. Methods that maintain the stability of engineered genomes are therefore critical to the successful ...
Lateral Gene Transfer Mechanisms and Pan-genomes in Eukaryotes
Tags: Population genetics/dynamicsS. J. Sibbald, L. Eme, J. M. Archibald and A. J. Roger, Trends in Parasitology, 2020.
Here we review evidence for known and potential mechanisms of LGT into diverse eukaryote lineages with a particular focus on protists, and we discuss trends emerging from recently reported examples. We also explore the potential role of LGT in generating ‘pan-genomes’ in ...
Invasion and maintenance of spore killers in populations of ascomycete fungi
Tags: Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortion, Yeast and FungiI. Martinossi-Allibert, C. Veller, S. L. Ament-Velásquez, A. A. Vogan, C. Rueffler and H. Johannesson, bioRxiv, 2020.04.06.026989. 2020.
We show how ploidy level, rate of selfing, and efficiency of spore killing affect the invasion probability of a driving allele and the conditions for its stable coexistence with the non-driving allele. Our model can be adapted to different fungal life-cycles, and is applied here ...
Case Study 1: Olive Fruit Fly (Bactrocera oleae)
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Population genetics/dynamicsMerle 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 ...
Selfish genes and sexual selection: the impact of genomic parasites on host reproduction
Tags: Genomics, Population genetics/dynamics, Resistance, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortion, WolbachiaN. 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 ...
Experimental manipulation of selfish genetic elements links genes to microbial community function
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Population genetics/dynamicsS. D. Quistad, G. Doulcier and P. B. Rainey, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 375:12. 2020.
Microbial communities underpin the Earth's biological and geochemical processes, but their complexity hampers understanding. Motivated by the challenge of diversity and the need to forge ways of capturing dynamical behaviour connecting genes to function, biologically independent ...
Abundance of conserved CRISPR-Cas9 target sites within the highly polymorphic genomes of Anopheles and Aedes mosquitoes
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Genetics, Population genetics/dynamics, ResistanceH. Schmidt, T. C. Collier, M. J. Hanemaaijer, P. D. Houston, Y. Lee and G. C. Lanzaro, Nature Communications, 11. 2020.
ere we report the results of a survey of 1280 genomes of the mosquitoes Anopheles gambiae, An. coluzzii, and Aedes aegypti in which we determine that similar to 90% of all protein-encoding CGD target genes in natural populations include at least one target site with no DRAs at a ...
Population-level multiplexing: A promising strategy to manage the evolution of resistance against gene drives targeting a neutral locus
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Population genetics/dynamicsM. 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 ...
Optimal control and analysis of a modified trojan Y-Chromosome strategy
Tags: Biological control, Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Sex distorterM. A. Beauregard, R. D. Parshad, S. Boon, H. Conaway, T. Griffin and J. J. Lyu, Ecological Modelling, 416. 2020.
The Trojan Y Chromosome (TYC) strategy is a promising eradication method that attempts to manipulate the female to male ratio to promote the reduction of the population of an invasive species. The manipulation stems from an introduction of sex-reversed males, called supermales, ...
Transcontinental dispersal of Anopheles gambiae occurred from West African origin via serial founder events
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population genetics/dynamics, ResistanceH. Schmidt, Y. Lee, T. C. Collier, M. J. Hanemaaijer, O. D. Kirstein, A. Ouledi, M. Muleba, D. E. Norris, M. Slatkin, A. J. Cornel and G. C. Lanzaro, Communications Biology, 2. 2019.
Here we present population genomic analyses of 111 specimens sampled from west to east Africa, including the first whole genome sequences from oceanic islands, the Comoros.
A selfish genetic element linked to increased lifespan impacts metabolism in female house mice
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Population genetics/dynamics, Rodents, Transmission distortionLopes, P. C. and A. K. Lindholm, The Journal of Experimental Biology, 2019:212704. 2019.
Gene drive systems can lead to the evolution of traits that further enhance the transmission of the driving element. In gene drive, one allele is transmitted to offspring at a higher frequency than the homologous allele. This has a range of consequences, which generally include a ...
An X-linked meiotic drive allele has strong, recessive fitness costs in female Drosophila pseudoobscura
Tags: Evolution, Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortionW. Larner, T. Price, L. Holman and N. Wedell, Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 286:9. 2019.
Selfish 'meiotic drive' alleles are transmitted to more than 50% of offspring, allowing them to rapidly invade populations even if they reduce the fitness of individuals carrying them. Theory predicts that drivers should either fix or go extinct, yet some drivers defy these ...
Effects of a male meiotic driver on male and female transcriptomes in the house mouse
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene editing, Population genetics/dynamics, Rodents, Transmission distortionA. 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 ...
Does meiotic drive alter male mate preference?
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Population genetics/dynamics, Transmission distortionS. R. Finnegan, L. Nitsche, M. Mondani, M. F. Camus, K. Fowler and A. Pomiankowski, Behavioral Ecology, 13:194-201. 2019.
Male mate preferences have been demonstrated across a range of species, including the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. This species is subject to sex-ratio (SR), an X-linked male meiotic driver, which causes the dysfunction of Y-sperm and the production of all-female ...
Gene Drives: Dynamics and Regulatory Matters-A Report from the Workshop “Evaluation of Spatial and Temporal Control of Gene Drives,” April 4-5, 2019, Vienna
Tags: Gene drive, Modeling, Policy, Population genetics/dynamics, Regulation, Risk and safety, Synthetic biologyB. Giese, J. L. Friess, N. H. Barton, P. W. Messer, F. Debarre, M. F. Schetelig, N. Windbichler, H. Meimberg and C. Boete, Bioessays, 41:3. 2019.
Gene Drives are regarded as future tools with a high potential for population control. Due to their inherent ability to overcome the rules of Mendelian inheritance, gene drives (GD) may spread genes rapidly through populations of sexually reproducing organisms. A release of ...
A century of bias in genetics and evolution
Tags: Evolution, Gene drive mechanisms, Population genetics/dynamics, Transmission distortionL. D. Hurst, Heredity, 123:33-44. 2019.
Mendel proposed that the heritable material is particulate and that transmission of alleles is unbiased. An assumption of unbiased transmission was necessary to show how variation can be preserved in the absence of selection, so overturning an early objection to Darwinism. In the ...
Gene-drive-mediated extinction is thwarted by population structure and evolution of sib mating
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquito husbandry, Population genetics/dynamics, Transmission distortionJ. J. Bull, C. H. Remien and S. M. Krone, Evolution Medicine and Public Health, 2019:66-81. 2019.
Genetic engineering combined with CRISPR technology has developed to the point that gene drives can, in theory, be engineered to cause extinction in countless species. Success of extinction programs now rests on the possibility of resistance evolution, which is largely unknown. ...
MGDrivE: A modular simulation framework for the spread of gene drives through spatially-explicit mosquito populations
Tags: Aedes, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population genetics/dynamics, ResistanceSánchez 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 ...
Modeling the mutation and reversal of engineered underdominance gene drives
Tags: Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Population genetics/dynamics, UnderdominanceEdgington, 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, ...
Controlling invasive rodents via synthetic gene drive and the role of polyandry
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Mosquito husbandry, Pest management, Population genetics/dynamics, RodentsManser, 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 ...
Ecological effects on underdominance threshold drives for vector control
Tags: Field trials, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population genetics/dynamics, UnderdominanceD. Khamis, C. El Mouden, K. Kura and M. B. Bonsall, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 456:1-15. 2018.
Here, ecological and epidemiological dynamics are coupled to a model of mosquito genetics to investigate theoretically the impact of different types of underdominance gene drive on disease prevalence. We model systems with two engineered alleles carried either on the same pair ...
Multiple loci of small effect confer wide variability in efficiency and resistance rate of CRISPR gene drive
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Population genetics/dynamicsJ. Champer, Z. Wen, A. Luthra, R. Reeves, J. Chung, C. Liu, Y. L. Lee, J. Liu, E. Yang, P. W. Messer and A. G. Clark, bioRxiv, 447615. 2018.
Gene drives could allow for control of vector-borne diseases by directly suppressing vector populations or spreading genetic payloads designed to reduce pathogen transmission. CRISPR homing gene drives work by cleaving wild-type alleles, which are then converted to drive alleles ...
Invasion Success and Management Strategies for Social Vespula Wasps
Tags: Biological control, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Oceania, Population genetics/dynamics, Sex distorterP. J. Lester and J. R. Beggs, Annual Review of Entomology, 64:51-71. 2018.
Three species of Vespula have become invasive in Australia, Hawai'i, New Zealand, and North and South America and continue to spread. Economically, their main negative effect is associated with pollination and the apicultural industry. Climate change is likely to exacerbate ...
A spatially discrete, integral projection model and its application to invasive carp
Tags: Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Risk and safety, Sex distorterR. A. Erickson, E. A. Eager, P. M. Kocovsky, D. C. Glover, J. L. Kallis and K. R. Long, Ecological Modelling, 387:163-171. 2018.
Natural resource managers and ecologists often desire an understanding of spatial dynamics such as migration, dispersion, and meta-population dynamics. Network-node models can capture these salient features. Additionally, the state-variable used with many species may be ...
Pest demography critically determines the viability of synthetic gene drives for population control
Tags: CRISPR, Evolution, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamics, Resistance, Sex distorter, Synthetic biologyK. E. Wilkins, T. A. A. Prowse, P. Cassey, P. Q. Thomas and J. V. Ross, Mathematical Biosciences, 305:160-169. 2018.
Synthetic gene drives offer a novel solution for the control of invasive alien species. CRISPR-based gene drives can positively bias their own inheritance, and comprise a DNA sequence that is replicated by homologous recombination. Since gene drives can be positioned to silence ...
Selfish genetic elements
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive synthetic, Population genetics/dynamics, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Selfish genetic elements, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionAgren, 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 ...
Sperm competition suppresses gene drive among experimentally evolving populations of house mice
Tags: Ecology, Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Population genetics/dynamics, Rodents, Transmission distortionManser, AL, A. K.; Simmons, L. W.; Firman, R. C., Molecular Ecology, 26:5784-5792. 2017.
Drive genes are genetic elements that manipulate the 50% ratio of Mendelian inheritance in their own favour, allowing them to rapidly propagate through populations. The action of drive genes is often hidden, making detection and identification inherently difficult. Yet drive ...
Meiotic drive changes sperm precedence patterns in house mice: potential for male alternative mating tactics?
Tags: Evolution, Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, Population genetics/dynamics, Rodents, Selfish genetic elements, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionSutter, AL, A. K., BMC Evolutionary Biology, 16:15. 2016.
Background: With female multiple mating (polyandry), male-male competition extends to after copulation (sperm competition). Males respond to this selective pressure through physiological, morphological and behavioural adaptations. Sperm competitiveness is commonly decreased in ...
Sperm traits of masculinized fish relative to wild-type males: a systematic review and meta-analyses
Tags: Fish, Population genetics/dynamics, Population suppression, Sex distorterA. M. Senior, S. L. Johnson and S. Nakagawa, Fish and Fisheries, 17:143-164. 2014.
Environmental sex reversal (ESR), whereby environmental effects (e.g. exogenous chemicals) override genetic sex determination, is a commonly used technique in aquaculture and physiology research. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses of the literature that compares ...
Demographic effects on the use of genetic options for the control of mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Pest management, Population genetics/dynamics, Sex distorter, Sterile insect technique (SIT)R. E. Thresher, M. Canning and N. J. Bax, Ecological Applications, 23:801-814. 2013.
This study tests the sensitivity of genetically based pest control options based on sex ratio distortion to intra-and intersexual aggressive interactions that affect male and female survival and fitness. Data on these interactions and their impacts were gathered for the ...
Analysis of the Trojan Y chromosome model for eradication of invasive species in a dendritic riverine system
Tags: Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Modeling, Population genetics/dynamicsJ. B. Gutierrez, M. K. Hurdal, R. D. Parshad and J. L. Teem, Journal of Mathematical Biology, 64:319-340. 2011.
The use of Trojan Y chromosomes has been proposed as a genetic strategy for the eradication of invasive species. The strategy is particularly relevant to invasive fish species that have XY sex determination system and are amenable to sex-reversal. In this paper we study the ...
On the global attractor of the Trojan Y chromosome model.
Tags: Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Population genetics/dynamics, Sex distorterR. D. Parshad and J. B. Gutierrez, Communications on Pure and Applied Analysis, 10:339-359. 2010.
We consider the Trojan Y Chromosome (TYC) model for eradication of invasive species in population dynamics. We present global estimates for the TYC system in a spatial domain. In this work we prove the existence of a global attractor for the system. We derive uniform estimates to ...
Selfish DNA and breeding system in flowering plants
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Gene drive, Population genetics/dynamics, Selfish genetic elementsBurt, AT, R., Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 265:141-146. 1998.
In many species, some individuals carry one or more B chromosomes: extra, or supernumerary chromosomes not part of the normal complement. In most well-studied cases, B's lower the fitness of their carrier and persist in populations only because of accumulation mechanisms ...
