Keywords: Population suppression
Integrated vector management with the sterile insect technique component for the suppression of Aedes aegypti in an urban setting in Indonesia
Tags: Aedes, Asia, Population suppression, Vector controlSasmita HI, Neoh K-B, Ernawan B, Indarwatmi M, Nasution IA, Fitrianto N, et al., PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2025.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves subjecting laboratory-bred male mosquitoes to radiation, typically gamma rays, X-rays, or electrons, that render them sterile. These sterile male mosquitoes are then released into the field to mate with wild female mosquitoes. From that ...
Applying the Protective Precautionary Principle to the Ethical Use of Gene Drive Technology for Anopheles gambiae Suppression in Malaria Control
Tags: Anopheles, Ethics, Gene drive, Population suppression, Risk and safetyNucharee Wongsamut, Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research, 2025.
Malaria contributes to poverty and illness, which further hinder productivity and income generation. Therefore, combating malaria is crucial for breaking the vicious cycle of poverty. Genome editing technologies, such as gene drives designed to suppress Anopheles ...
Mosquito Miracle: Breakthrough Brings Hope for Bangladesh in Dengue Fight
Tags: Aedes, Asia, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaStaff Correspondent, Digi Bangla Tech, 2025.
A major scientific breakthrough is offering new hope for Bangladesh in its battle against dengue. An international team of researchers has successfully developed a strain of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia bacteria, which are capable of adapting to the local ...
Stronger population suppression by gene drive targeting doublesex from dominant female-sterile resistance alleles
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Population suppression, ResistanceWeizhe Chen, Ziye Wang, Jackson Champer, bioRxiv, 2025.
CRISPR homing drives can be used to suppress a population by targeting female fertility genes. They convert wild-type alleles to drive alleles in the germline of drive heterozygotes by homology-directed repair after DNA cleavage. However, resistance alleles produced by ...
Anticipating evolutionary responses of mosquito mating systems to population suppression with mass-reared males
Tags: Evolution, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionBonsall, M.B., Cator, L.J., Current Opinion in Insect Science, 68. 2025.
Strategies that rely on the mass release of males to suppress mosquito populations will exert selective pressure on natural mating systems. Here, we investigate how mass releases might affect the mating behaviors of wild target populations. We highlight gaps in our understanding ...
Global asymptotic stability in a delay stage structured model for mosquito population suppression
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaHuang, Mg., Yu, Js., Applied Mathematics, 40:112-136. 2025.
A promising avenue to control mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and Zika involves releasing male mosquitoes carrying the bacterium Wolbachia in wild areas to drive female sterility by a mechanism called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In this work, we initiate ...
Challenges in developing a split drive targeting dsx for the genetic control of the invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi
Tags: Anopheles, CRISPR, Malaria, Population suppression, Sex distorterLarrosa-Godall, M., Ang, J.X.D., Leftwich, P.T. et al., Parasites & Vectors, 18. 2025.
Anopheles stephensi is a competent malaria vector mainly present in southern Asia and the Arabian Peninsula. Since 2012, it has invaded several countries of eastern Africa, creating an emerging risk of urban transmission. Urgent efforts are required to develop novel and more ...
Mark-Release-Recapture of Packed and Shipped Aedes aegypti with Wolbachia: Implications for Conducting Remote Incompatible Insect Technique Programs
Tags: Aedes, Incompatible insect technique, Population suppression, WolbachiaOhm, J. R., Lynd, A., McGowan, A., et al., The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2025.
Male mosquitoes containing the endosymbiont Wolbachia (Wb+) can be used as a tool to suppress wild mosquito populations through a technique termed incompatible insect technique (IIT). IIT programs reduce wild mosquitoes via incompatible matings between released males and wild ...
Engineering drive–selection balance for localized population suppression with neutral dynamics
Tags: CRISPR, Pest management, Population suppression, Toxin-antidoteWillis, K., and Burt, A., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122. 2025.
While the release of sterile males has been highly successful in suppressing some pest populations, it is impractical for many species due to the males disappearing after a single generation, necessitating large, repeated releases to maintain sufficient impact. Synthetic gene ...
A comparative assessment of self-limiting genetic control strategies for population suppression
Tags: Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Yue Han, Jackson Champer, Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2025.
Genetic control strategies are promising solutions for control of pest populations and invasive species. Methods utilizing repeated releases of males such as Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal (RIDL), self-limiting gene drives, and gene ...
Making sex deadly for insects could control pests that carry disease and harm crops
Tags: Genetically modified organisms, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Risk and safetyBill Sullivan, The Conversation, 2025.
Insects do a lot more harm than ruining picnics. Some insects spread devastating diseases, while others cause staggering economic losses in agriculture. To control some of these pests, scientists are developing males that make sex a deadly event. The stakes are high. Mosquitoes ...
Wolbachia-based mosquito control: Environmental perspectives on population suppression and replacement strategies
Tags: Ecology, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaBhattacharyya, J., Roelke, D.L., Acta Tropica, 262. 2025.
Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant threat to global health, and traditional mosquito control methods often fall short of effectiveness. A promising alternative is the biological control strategy of transinfecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacterium capable of ...
Gene drive-based population suppression in the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi
Tags: CRISPR, Genetic engineering, Population suppressionXu, X., Chen, J., Wang, Y. et al., Nature Communications, 16:1007. 2025.
Gene drives are alleles that can bias the inheritance of specific traits in target populations for the purpose of modification or suppression. Here, we construct a homing suppression drive in the major urban malaria vector Anopheles stephensi targeting the female-specific exon of ...
Gene Drive Technology Offers Hope For Malaria Vector Control
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Malaria, Population suppression, Vector controlEvrim Ağacı, The Pinnacle Gazette, 2025.
A team of scientists has developed an innovative gene drive targeting Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes, a key malaria vector in urban areas. Their strategy uses CRISPR technology to disrupt the doublesex (dsx) gene, crucial for female fertility, thereby reducing mosquito ...
Genetically Engineered Male Insects Shorten Their Mates’ Lifespans
Tags: Fruit fly, Genetic biocontrol, Mosquito husbandry, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Vector controlSneha Khedkar, The Scientist, 2025.
On a still night, as the air is thick with silence, the sharp, whining buzz of a mosquito shatters the calm. These blood-sucking insects that disturb people’s deep slumber are also responsible for spreading diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, malaria and Zika fever, which ...
A Y chromosome-linked genome editor for efficient population suppression in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
Tags: Anopheles, CRISPR, Genetic biocontrol, Genetic engineering, Modeling, Population suppression, Y-chromosomeTolosana, I., Willis, K., Gribble, M. et al., Nature Communications, 16:206. 2025.
Genetic control – the deliberate introduction of genetic traits to control a pest or vector population – offers a powerful tool to augment conventional mosquito control tools that have been successful in reducing malaria burden but that are compromised by a range of ...
Wolbachia-based mosquito control: Environmental perspectives on population suppression and replacement strategies
Tags: Ecology, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaJoydeb Bhattacharyya, Daniel L. Roelke, Acta Tropica, 262. 2025.
Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant threat to global health, and traditional mosquito control methods often fall short of effectiveness. A promising alternative is the biological control strategy of transinfecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacterium capable of ...
Engineering Resilient Gene Drives Towards Sustainable Malaria Control: Predicting, Testing and Overcoming Target Site Resistance
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Resistance, Selfish genetic elementsIoanna Morianou, Lee Phillimore, Bhavin S. Khatri,, bioRxiv, 2024.
CRISPR-based gene drives are selfish genetic elements with the potential to spread through entire insect populations for sustainable vector control. Gene drives designed to disrupt the reproductive capacity of females can suppress laboratory populations of the malaria mosquito. ...
Loss-of-function in testis-specific serine/threonine protein kinase triggers male infertility in an invasive moth
Tags: CRISPR, Genetically modified organisms, Moths, Pest management, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Wei, Z., Wang, Y., Zheng, K. et al., Communications Biology, 7. 2024.
Genetic biocontrol technologies present promising and eco-friendly strategies for the management of pest and insect-transmitted diseases. Although considerable advancements achieve in gene drive applications targeting mosquitoes, endeavors to combat agricultural pests have been ...
Deployment of tethered gene drive for confined suppression in continuous space requires avoiding drive wave interference
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Modeling, Population suppressionRuobing Feng, Jackson Champer, Molecular Ecology, 33. 2024.
Gene drives have great potential for suppression of pest populations and removal of exotic invasive species. CRISPR homing suppression drive is a powerful but unconfined drive, posing risks of uncontrolled spread. Thus, developing methods for confining a gene drive is of great ...
Population suppression by release of insects carrying a dominant sterile homing gene drive targeting doublesex in Drosophila
Tags: CRISPR, Gene editing, Modeling, Population suppression, Synthetic biologyChen, W., Guo, J., Liu, Y. et al., Nature Communications, 15. 2024.
CRISPR homing gene drives can suppress pest populations by targeting female fertility genes, converting wild-type alleles into drive alleles in the germline of drive heterozygotes. fsRIDL (female-specific Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal) is a self-limiting ...
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 ...
Non-Mendelian transmission of X chromosomes: mechanisms and impact on sex ratios and population dynamics in different breeding systems
Tags: Evolution, Population suppression, Transmission distortion, X chromosomeSally Adams; Andre Pires-daSilva, Biochemical Society Transactions, 2024.
The non-Mendelian transmission of sex chromosomes during gametogenesis carries significant implications, influencing sex ratios and shaping evolutionary dynamics. Here we focus on known mechanisms that drive non-Mendelian inheritance of X chromosomes during spermatogenesis and ...
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 ...
Wolbachia Infection through Hybridization to Enhance an Incompatible Insect Technique-Based Suppression of Aedes albopictus in Eastern Spain
Tags: Arbovirus, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, WolbachiaCholvi M, Trelis M, Bueno-Marí R, Khoubbane M, Gil R, Marcilla A, Moretti R., Insects, 15. 2024.
Wolbachia bacteria occur naturally as symbionts of many insect species and are responsible for various phenomena that modify the hosts’ reproductive biology. Among them, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) refers to the sterility of eggs produced by crosses between infected males ...
Effectiveness evaluation of mosquito suppression strategies on dengue transmission under changing temperature and precipitation
Tags: Dengue, Field trials, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionKaihui Liu, Shuanghui Fang, Qiong Li, et al., Acta Tropica, 2024.
The haplolethal gene wupA of Drosophila exhibits potential as a target for an X-poisoning gene drive
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorter, X chromosomeClancy D. Lawler, Ana Karla Parra Nuñez, Natalia Hernandes, Soumitra Bhide, Isabelle Lohrey, Simon Baxter, Charles Robin, bioRxiv, 2024.
A synthetic gene drive that targets haplolethal genes on the X-chromosome can skew the sex ratio towards males. Like an ‘X-shredder’ it does not involve ‘homing’ and that has advantages including the reduction of gene drive resistance allele formation. We examine this ...
Gene drive and genetic sex conversion in the global agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Synthetic biologyMeccariello, A., Hou, S., Davydova, S. et al., Nature Communications, 15:372. 2024.
Homing-based gene drives are recently proposed interventions promising the area-wide, species-specific genetic control of harmful insect populations. Here we characterise a first set of gene drives in a tephritid agricultural pest species, the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis ...
Population suppression with dominant female-lethal alleles is boosted by homing gene drive
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive, Modeling, Pest management, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT), Synthetic biologyJinyu Zhu, Jingheng Chen, Yiran Liu, Xuejiao Xu, Jackson Champer, bioRxiv, 2023.
Methods to suppress pest insect populations using genetic constructs and repeated releases of male homozygotes have recently been shown to be an attractive alternative to older sterile insect technique based on radiation. Female-specific lethal alleles have substantially ...
Measuring Host Fitness Effects and Transmission of Wolbachia Strains in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
Tags: Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaRoss, P.A., Methods in Molecular Biology, 2739. 2023.
Lines of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with heritable Wolbachia bacteria are being developed and released for arbovirus control. Coordinated releases of lab-reared Wolbachia mosquitoes have reduced local disease incidence by spreading virus-blocking Wolbachia strains and by ...
Symbiotic Wolbachia in mosquitoes and its role in reducing the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases: updates and prospects
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaA. Minwuyelet, G. P. Petronio, D. Yewhalaw, A. Sciarretta, I. Magnifico, D. Nicolosi, R. Di Marco and G. Atenafu, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14. 2023.
Mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, West Nile virus, chikungunya, Zika fever, and filariasis have the greatest health and economic impact. These mosquito-borne diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical and sub-tropical areas. Due to the ...
Unleashing a New Weapon on the Mosquito: A Mosquito
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaS. Nolen and E. Lutz, New York Times, 2023.
Five decades ago, entomologists confronting the many kinds of suffering that mosquitoes inflict on humans began to consider a new idea: What if, instead of killing the mosquitoes (a losing proposition in most places), you could disarm them? Even if you couldn’t keep them from ...
Measuring the Impact of Genetic Heterogeneity and Chromosomal Inversions on the Efficacy of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Drives in Different Strains of Anopheles gambiae
Tags: Anopheles, Malaria, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionPescod, Poppy Bevivino, Giulia Anthousi, Amalia Shelton, Ruth Shepherd, Josephine Lombardo, Fabrizio Nolan, Tony, The CRISPR Journal, 2023.
The human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae is becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides, spurring the development of genetic control strategies. CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives can modify a population by creating double-stranded breaks at highly specific targets, triggering copying ...
Gene drives for invasive wasp control: Extinction is unlikely, with suppression dependent on dispersal and growth rates
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Oceania, Other arthropods, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseP. J. Lester, D. O'Sullivan and G. L. W. Perry, Ecological Applications, 2023.
Abstract Gene drives offer a potentially revolutionary method for pest control over large spatial extents. These genetic modifications spread deleterious variants through a population and have been proposed as methods for pest suppression or even eradication. We examined the ...
Population suppression by release of insects carrying a dominant sterile homing gene drive targeting doublesex in Drosophila
Tags: CRISPR, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Sterile insect technique (SIT), Synthetic biologyC. Weizhe, G. Jialiang, L. Yiran and C. Jackson, bioRxiv, 2023.07.17.549342. 2023.
Gene drive alleles, which bias their own inheritance and increase in frequency, show great promise for blocking disease transmission or directly suppressing pest populations. The most common engineered drive system is the CRISPR homing drive, which converts wild-type alleles to ...
Modeling the Impact of Migration on Mosquito Population Suppression
Tags: Incompatible insect technique, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaM. Huang and J. Yu, Qualitative Theory of Dynamical Systems, 22:134. 2023.
The Wolbachia-induced incompatible insect technique is a promising strategy for controlling wild mosquito populations. However, recent experimental studies have shown that mosquito migration into target areas dilutes the strategy’s effectiveness. In this work, we formulate a ...
CRISPR’d Mosquitoes With All-Male Offspring Could Help Eradicate Malaria
Tags: Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)V. B. Ramirez, Singuarity Hub, 2023.
Though at least one vaccine for malaria is in use, it remains one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Almost half of the world’s population lives in areas where malaria transmission occurs, and an estimated 619,000 people died of the disease in 2021. Worse yet, the vast ...
The cellular lives of Wolbachia
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaJ. Porter and W. Sullivan, Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2023.
Wolbachia are successful Gram-negative bacterial endosymbionts, globally infecting a large fraction of arthropod species and filarial nematodes. Efficient vertical transmission, the capacity for horizontal transmission, manipulation of host reproduction and enhancement of host ...
Threshold dynamics of a stochastic mathematical model for Wolbachia infections
Tags: Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaJ. Yang, Z. Chen, Y. Tan, Z. Liu and R. A. Cheke, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 17:2231967. 2023.
A stochastic mathematical model is proposed to study how environmental heterogeneity and the augmentation of mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria affect the outcomes of dengue disease. The existence and uniqueness of the positive solutions of the system are studied. Then the ...
MGSurvE: A framework to optimize trap placement for genetic surveillance of mosquito population
Tags: Dengue, Field trials, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionC. H. Sánchez, D. L. Smith and J. M. Marshall, bioRxiv, 2023.
Genetic surveillance of mosquito populations is becoming increasingly relevant as genetics-based mosquito control strategies advance from laboratory to field testing. Especially applicable are mosquito gene drive projects, the potential scale of which leads monitoring to be a ...
CRISPR/Cas9-based gene drive could suppress agricultural pests
Tags: CRISPR, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Self limitingNorth Carolina State University, Phys Org, 2023.
Researchers have developed a "homing gene drive system" based on CRISPR/Cas9 that could be used to suppress populations of Drosophila suzukii vinegar flies—so-called "spotted-wing Drosophila" that devastate soft-skinned fruit in North America, Europe and parts of South ...
Generation game: gene-edited mosquitos to fight malaria
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionJ. Opara, Sci Dev Net, 2023.
Population-level changes in the genetic make-up of one of the world’s deadliest animals could provide a key in the fight against malaria, proponents of a radical new technology argue. So-called gene drive technology, where genetic changes are passed down through generations, ...
A framework for identifying fertility gene targets for mammalian pest control
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Other mammals, Pest management, Population suppressionC. C. Anna, A. Alana, E. Rey, E. Kevin, K. Sebastian, D. Ludovic, C. Jackson, E. C. Samuel, W. M. Philipp and J. G. Neil, bioRxiv, 2023.05.30.542751. 2023.
Fertility-targeted gene drives have been proposed as an ethical genetic approach for managing wild populations of vertebrate pests for public health and conservation benefit. This manuscript introduces a framework to identify and evaluate target gene suitability based on ...
The optimal strategy of incompatible insect technique (IIT) using Wolbachia and the application to malaria control
Tags: Incompatible insect technique, Malaria, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaT. Matsufuji and S. Seirin-Lee, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 569:111519. 2023.
For decades, techniques to control vector population with low environmental impact have been widely explored in both field and theoretical studies. The incompatible insect technique (IIT) using Wolbachia, based on cytoplasmic incompatibility, is a technique that ...
Mosquito gene targeted RNAi studies for vector control
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetic engineering, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionM. Yadav, N. Dahiya and N. Sehrawat, Functional and Integrative Genomics, 23:180. 2023.
Vector-borne diseases are serious public health concern. Mosquito is one of the major vectors responsible for the transmission of a number of diseases like malaria, Zika, chikungunya, dengue, West Nile fever, Japanese encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, and yellow fever. ...
Targeting Sex Determination to Suppress Mosquito Populations
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT), Vector controlL. Ming, P. K. Nikolay, S. Ruichen, Y. Ting, D. B. Elena, J. B. Daniel, A. Igor, M. S. C. Hector, Z. Yinpeng, A. D. Nicolas, M. L. YuMin, P. S. Matthew, M. Craig, M. M. John and S. A. Omar, bioRxiv, 2023.04.18.537404. 2023.
Each year, hundreds of millions of people are infected with arboviruses such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika, which are all primarily spread by the notorious mosquito Aedes aegypti. Traditional control measures have proven insufficient, necessitating innovations. ...
Modelling the effect of migration on the localisation and spread of a gene drive
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Self limiting, Self sustainingC. Benjamin James and F.-L. Alexandre Jules Hen, bioRxiv, 2023.04.02.535303. 2023.
Gene drives have the potential to address pressing ecological issues. Through the super-Mendelian inheritance of a gene drive, a trait can be spread through a population even in spite of a fitness cost. This ability to spread is both its greatest quality and detractor. We may not ...
The Promise and Challenge of Genetic Biocontrol Approaches for Malaria Elimination
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionS. James and M. Santos, Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2023.
Malaria remains an ongoing public health challenge, with over 600,000 deaths in 2021, of which approximately 96% occurred in Africa. Despite concerted efforts, the goal of global malaria elimination has stalled in recent years. This has resulted in widespread calls for new ...
Gene Drives: Target Malaria is underestimating the risks
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Risk and safety, Risk assessment, Target malariaC. Then, Testbiotech, 2023.
The Target Malaria consortium has for several years been planning to conduct field trials using genetically engineered mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. The aim is to transfer artificial gene constructs, i. e. the so-called ‘X-shredder’, into wild populations of the mosquitoes. ...
A mosquito population suppression model with a saturated Wolbachia release strategy in seasonal succession
Tags: Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, WolbachiaZ. Zhang, L. Chang, Q. Huang, R. Yan and B. Zheng, J Math Biol, 86:51. 2023.
Releasing Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes to suppress wild female mosquitoes through cytoplasmic incompatibility has shown great promise in controlling and preventing mosquito-borne diseases. To make the release logistically and economically feasible, we propose a saturated ...
Wolbachia pipientis infections in populations of Aedes albopictus in the city of València (Spain): implications for mosquito control
Tags: Aedes, Incompatible insect technique, Population suppression, WolbachiaR. Bueno-Marí, R. Domínguez-Santos, M. Trelis, E. Garrote-Sánchez, M. Cholvi, F. Quero de Lera, M. Khoubbane, A. Marcilla and R. Gi, Revista Española de Salud Pública, 97. 2023.
OBJECTIVE: The presence of Aedes albopictus, of high sanitary and social impact, was first reported in Valencia (Eastern Spain) in 2015. Innovative tools for its control include the use of the endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia pipientis. The release of mosquito males infected ...
Hybrid incompatibilities in the anopheles gambiae species complex
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic incompatibilities, Malaria, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionA. Kriezis, Imperial College London, 2023.
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium which is responsible for approximately 400,000 deaths annually, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes belonging to the Anopheles gambiae species complex. While progress ...
Alleviating the burden of malaria with gene drive technologies? A biocentric analysis of the moral permissibility of modifying malaria mosquitoes
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionN. de Graeff, K. R. Jongsma and A. L. Bredenoord, Journal of Medical Ethics, 2023.
Gene drive technologies (GDTs) have been proposed as a potential new way to alleviate the burden of malaria, yet have also raised ethical questions. A central ethical question regarding GDTs relates to whether it is morally permissible to intentionally modify or eradicate ...
Simulations Reveal High Efficiency and Confinement of a Population Suppression CRISPR Toxin-Antidote Gene Drive
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Toxin-antidoteY. Zhu and J. Champer, ACS Synthetic Biolog, 2023.
Though engineered gene drives hold great promise for spreading through and suppressing populations of disease vectors or invasive species, complications such as resistance alleles and spatial population structure can prevent their success. Additionally, most forms of suppression ...
Gene Drive Technology With Agricultural Application Potential
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionR. Carmeli-Peslak, SeedWorld, 2023.
Gene drive technology, a genetic phenomenon that occurs in nature, causes a trait to spread in species through sexual reproduction over many generations. The inheritance rate is higher than the Mendelian rate which is 50%. Gene drives have been used for public health and ...
Biopolitik: The Promise of Gene Drive
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionS. Todi, Technopolitik, 2023.
Gene drives are genetic elements of an organism that are transmitted to progeny at higher than mendelian frequencies (>50%). Gene editing techniques such as CRISPR–Cas9 have made gene drives extremely efficient in laboratory settings and have shown the potential to reduce the ...
A Zika virus-responsive sensor-effector system in Aedes aegypti
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionS. Basu, C. M. Reitmayer, S. Lumley, B. Atkinson, M. L. Schade-Weskott, S. Rooney, W. Larner, E. E. Montiel, R. Gutierrez-Lopez, E. Levitt, H. M. Munyanduki, A. M. E. Elrefaey, A. T. Clarke, S. Koit, E. Zusinaite, R. Fragkoudis, A. Merits and L. Alphey, bioRxiv, 2023.02.06.527261. 2023.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a recently re-emerged flavivirus transmitted primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito, Aedes aegypti being the main vector. ZIKV infection is associated with a range of adverse effects; infection during pregnancy can lead to foetal abnormalities, ...
Ethical dilemma: Should we get rid of mosquitoes?
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive, Governance, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Target malariaTalya Hackett, TED-Ed, 2023.
Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths every year than any other animal, but very few of the 3,500 mosquito species actually transmit deadly diseases to humans. Scientists have been conducting experiments using engineered technologies called gene drives that could ...
Dynamics of an impulsive reaction-diffusion mosquitoes model with multiple control measures
Tags: Aedes, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaY. Li, H. Zhao and K. Wang, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20:775-806. 2023.
It is well-known that mosquito control is one of the effective methods to reduce and prevent the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases. In this paper, we formulate a reaction-diffusion impulsive hybrid model incorporating Wolbachia, impulsively spraying of insecticides, spatial ...
Gene Drives Could Fight Malaria and Other Global Killers but Might Have Unintended Consequences
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionM. Cobb, Scientific American, 2023.
Every year more than 600,000 people die from mosquito-transmitted malaria, most of them children under age five. Some insects that are disease vectors, such as mosquitoes, are currently expanding their range around the world, bringing new threats. Genetic engineering can fix this ...
CRISPR Gene Drives: A Weapon of Mass Destruction?
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppressionJ. Ng, Medium, 2022.
Gene drives allow scientists to “drive” new genes — and their associated traits — into wildlife populations at unprecedented rates. Here’s a simplified explanation of how gene drives work. In normal sexual reproduction between species with two copies of chromosomes, ...
Gene drive designs for efficient and localisable population suppression using Y-linked editors
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Sterile insect technique (SIT)R. Geci, K. Willis and A. Burt, PLOS Genetics, 18:e1010550. 2022.
Author summary Some pest populations can be successfully controlled by the inundative release of sterile males, but this approach is not practicable when the target population is large or the species difficult to rear. Computer modelling has previously demonstrated that releasing ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes … could CRISPR gene editing end malaria?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaD. Wells, SelectScience, 2022.
Despite being a preventable and treatable disease, malaria is currently affecting the lives of more than 200 million people.1 This results in over half a million deaths per year, with 80% of this mortality occurring in children under the age of 5.2 In addition to the tragic ...
Gene drive-mediated population elimination for biodiversity conservation. When you come to a fork in the road, take it
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionB. A. Hay and M. Guo, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119:e2218020119. 2022.
How can the ability of t w2 to spread at super-Mendelian frequencies be utilized even if it is unable to directly drive the population to an unfit state? Gierus, Birand, and colleagues proposed placing Cas9 and a gRNA at a neutral position within the t haplotype. In this hybrid ...
New CRISPR tech makes it possible to wipe out invasive mice
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Population suppression, Rodents2022.
Bioinformatic and literature assessment of toxicity and allergenicity of a CRISPR-Cas9 engineered gene drive to control the human malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppression, Risk and safetyA. Qureshi and J. B. Connolly, Malaria Journal, 2022.
Population suppression gene drive is currently being evaluated, including via environmental risk assessment (ERA), for malaria vector control. One such gene drive involves the dsxFCRISPRh transgene encoding (i) hCas9 endonuclease, (i) T1 guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the doublesex ...
A natural gene drive could steer invasive rodents on islands to extinction
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Population suppression, Rodents, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionB. Brookshire, ScienceNews, 2022.
In the battle against the invasive house mouse on islands, scientists are using the rodent’s own genes against it. With the right tweaks, introducing a few hundred genetically altered mice could drive an island’s invasive mouse population to extinction in about 25 years, ...
Should NZ use contentious gene tech in our war on pests?
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Oceania, Population suppressionJ. Morton, NZ Herald, 2022.
Gene-altering technology could offer “breakthrough opportunities” for saving our pest-threatened species, a new future-scoping report says, but there’d be some tricky issues to address before it’d be a realistic option. Scientists have already been exploring how these ...
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 ...
Independent evaluation of Wolbachia infected male mosquito releases for control of Aedes aegypti in Harris County, Texas, using a Bayesian abundance estimator
Tags: Aedes, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Population suppression, WolbachiaS. Lozano, K. Pritts, D. Duguma, C. Fredregill and R. Connelly, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010907. 2022.
Among disease vectors, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the most insidious species in the world. The disease burden created by this species has dramatically increased in the past 50 years, and during this time countries have relied on pesticides for control and ...
Gene drive could be used to wipe out invasive mice on islands
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionM. Le Page, NewScientist, 2022.
For the first time, researchers have created a gene drive – a kind of genetic parasite – that could be used to eradicate mammalian pests such as mice by making them infertile. The technology could provide a humane alternative to the poison baits currently used to tackle ...
World first trial to eradicate mice through gene modification
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionI. Mannix, COSMOS, 2022.
Mouse populations could be eradicated in some areas through new gene modification technology to render female mice infertile. The technology – called t-CRISPR – was previously developed to target malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. This is the first proof of concept for its use ...
Gene drive technology to suppress invasive mice
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, RodentsUniversity of Adelaide, Phys Org, 2022.
Researchers at the University of Adelaide have released their first findings on the potential effectiveness of revolutionary gene drive technology to control invasive mice. The team has developed a world-first proof of concept for the technology—called t-CRISPR—using ...
Leveraging a natural murine meiotic drive to suppress invasive populations
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, Rodents, Transmission distortionL. Gierus, A. Birand, M. D. Bunting, G. I. Godahewa, S. G. Piltz, K. P. Oh, A. J. Piaggio, D. W. Threadgill, J. Godwin, O. Edwards, P. Cassey, J. V. Ross, T. A. A. Prowse and P. Q. Thomas, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119:e2213308119. 2022.
Invasive rodents are a major cause of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, particularly on islands. Unlike insects, genetic biocontrol strategies including population-suppressing gene drives with biased inheritance have not been developed in mice. Here, we demonstrate a ...
Monotonicity properties arising in a simple model of Wolbachia invasion for wild mosquito populations
Tags: Aedes, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaD. Vicencio, O. Vasilieva and P. Gajardo, Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 20:1148-1175. 2022.
Using tools borrowed from monotone dynamical system theory, in the proposed model, we prove the existence of an invariant threshold manifold that allows us to provide practical recommendations for performing single and periodic releases of Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes, seeking ...
Why we need to talk about ‘gene-drive’ grey squirrels
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagementAnonymous, University of Exeter, 2022.
Would the best way of controlling the UK’s rampant grey squirrel population be to spread genetic changes throughout the species? A new research film, to be shown next month at Exeter Phoenix, sees scientists, conservation and wildlife experts debate the use of emergent ...
GeneConvene Global Collaborative Webinar Series | Wolbachia Biology, Mechanisms and Applications 2022
Tags: Aedes, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Webinar, WolbachiaDavid O'Brochta, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2022.
Intracellular and extracellular symbiotic/commensal bacteria have enormous potential when manipulated and deployed appropriately to serve as agents of control of insects and the pathogens they transmit. Wolbachia, an intracellular bacteria, is a well studied system and one that ...
Anopheles homing suppression drive candidates exhibit unexpected performance differences in simulations with spatial structure
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, X chromosomeS. E. Champer, I. K. Kim, A. G. Clark, P. W. Messer and J. Champer, eLife, 11:e79121. 2022.
Recent experiments have produced several Anopheles gambiae homing gene drives that disrupt female fertility genes, thereby eventually inducing population collapse. Such drives may be highly effective tools to combat malaria. One such homing drive, based on the zpg promoter ...
Wolbachia strain wAlbB remains stable in Aedes aegypti over 15 years but exhibits genetic background-dependent variation in virus blocking
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaX. Liang, C. H. Tan, Q. Sun, M. Zhang, P. J. Wong, M. I. Li, et al., PNAS Nexus, 2022.
The ability of the maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia to induce cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) and virus blocking makes it a promising weapon for combatting mosquito-borne diseases through either suppression or replacement of wild-type populations. Recent ...
Applications of gene drive systems for population suppression of insect pests
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppressionM. Asad, D. Liu, J. Chen and G. Yang, Bulletin of Entomological Research, 2022.
Population suppression is an effective way for controlling insect pests and disease vectors, which cause significant damage to crop and spread contagious diseases to plants, animals and humans. Gene drive systems provide innovative opportunities for the insect pests population ...
A confinable female-lethal population suppression system in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Modeling, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. L. Smidler, J. J. Pai, R. A. Apte, H. M. Sánchez C, R. M. Corder, E. J. Gutiérrez, N. Thakre, I. Antoshechkin, J. M. Marshall and O. S. Akbari, bioRxiv, 2022.08.30.505861. 2022.
Malaria is among the world’s deadliest diseases, predominantly affecting sub-Saharan Africa, and killing over half a million people annually. Controlling the principal vector, the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, as well as other anophelines, is among the most effective methods to ...
World Mosquito Day: Can genetic modification techniques quash the menace?
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Population suppressionCNBCTV18, CNBC TV18, 2022.
Genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes are prepared in labs and are supposed to fight the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes which spread viruses including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. Billions have apparently been successfully released in the US, Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and ...
Precision Guided Sterile Males Suppress Populations of an Invasive Crop Pest
Tags: Agriculture, Fruit fly, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)N. P. Kandul, J. Liu, A. Buchman, I. C. Shriner, R. M. Corder, N. Warsinger-Pepe, T. Yang, A. K. Yadav, M. J. Scott, J. M. Marshall and O. S. Akbari, GEN Biotechnology, 1:372-385. 2022.
The Drosophila suzukii invasion of western countries has created an immense agricultural and economic threat to crop production. Despite many attempts to suppress its population, D. suzukii continues to destroy soft-flesh fruits. Precision guided sterile insect technique (pgSIT) ...
A theory of resistance to multiplexed gene drive demonstrates the significant role of weakly deleterious natural genetic variation
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, ResistanceB. S. Khatri and A. Burt, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119:e2200567119. 2022.
CRISPR-based gene drives have the potential for controlling natural populations of disease vectors, such as malaria-carrying mosquitoes in sub-Saharan Africa. If successful, they hold promise of significantly reducing the burden of disease and death from malaria and many other ...
What do we mean by “Target Organism” in Target Malaria’s gene drive research?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safety, Target malariaJ. B. Connolly, Target Malaria, 2022.
In the wild and in laboratory settings, sibling mosquito species can successfully mate to produce viable offspring, regardless of whether they are vectors or not. Importantly, females, but not males, of these offspring can be fertile. Nonetheless, the likelihood of finding such ...
Lack of robust evidence for a Wolbachia infection in Anopheles gambiae from Burkina Faso
Tags: Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaS. P. Sawadogo, D. A. Kabore, E. B. Tibiri, A. Hughes, O. Gnankine, S. Quek, A. Diabaté, H. Ranson, G. L. Hughes and R. K. Dabiré, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2022.
The endosymbiont Wolbachia can have major effects on the reproductive fitness, and vectorial capacity of host insects and may provide new avenues to control mosquito-borne pathogens. Anopheles gambiae s.l is the major vector of malaria in Africa but the use of Wolbachia in this ...
Gene drives and Africa’s battle against malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaAnnonymous, Africa Verified, 2022.
As malaria cases rise, and the effectiveness of current methods begins to fall, the WHO’s target of reducing the global malaria burden by 90% by 2030 will not be met. It is critical for new and resilient treatment, prevention, and control methods to be developed and integrated ...
Slow and steady wins the race: spatial and stochastic processes and the failure of suppression gene drives
Tags: Modeling, Population suppression, X chromosomeJ. F. Paril and B. L. Phillips, Molecular Ecology, 2022.
Gene drives that skew sex ratios offer a new management tool to suppress or eradicate pest populations. Early models and empirical work suggest that these suppression drives can completely eradicate well-mixed populations, but models that incorporate stochasticity and space ...
Partial masculinization of Aedes aegypti females by conditional expression of Nix
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Sex distorterB. B. Kojin, E. Jakes, J. K. Biedler, Z. Tu and Z. N. Adelman, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:e0010598. 2022.
Here, we report on the conditional expression of Nixin transgenic A. aegypti under the control of the tetracycline-dependent (Tet-off) system, with the goal of establishing repressible sex distortion. A masculinization phenotype was observed in three of the seven transgenic lines ...
Public perspectives towards using gene drive for invasive species management in Australia
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Oceania, Other mammals, Policy, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagementA. Mankad, E. V. Hobman and L. Carter, CSIRO, 2022.
Many pest animal species live and reproduce in high numbers across Australia. This includes animal species, such as cane toads, feral cats, foxes, rodents, wild pigs, wild rabbits. These species significantly damage Australia’s agricultural industries, natural landscapes, and ...
Manipulating Insect Sex Determination Pathways for Genetic Pest Management: Opportunities and Challenges
Tags: Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, Oxitec, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Siddall, T. Harvey-Samuel, T. Chapman and P. T. Leftwich, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 10. 2022.
Sex determination pathways in insects are generally characterised by an upstream primary signal, which is highly variable across species, and that regulates the splicing of a suite of downstream but highly-conserved genes (transformer, doublesex and fruitless). In turn, these ...
The AalNix3&4 isoform is required and sufficient to convert Aedes albopictus females into males
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Y. Zhao, B. Jin, P. Liu, X. Xiao, L. Cai, Z. Xie, L. Kong, T. Liu, W. Yang, Y. Wu, J. Gu, Z. Tu, A. A. James and X.-G. Chen, PLOS Genetics, 18:e1010280. 2022.
Author summary Nix serves as a conserved male-determining factor in the two most important mosquito arboviral vectors, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. AaeNix alone can convert Ae. aegypti females into fertile but flightless males. AalNix has four alternative splice isoforms ...
Natural and Engineered Sex Ratio Distortion in Insects
Tags: Agriculture, Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Transmission distortion, WolbachiaA. Compton and Z. Tu, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. 2022.
Insects have evolved highly diverse genetic sex-determination mechanisms and a relatively balanced male to female sex ratio is generally expected. However, selection may shift the optimal sex ratio while meiotic drive and endosymbiont manipulation can result in sex ratio ...
Selective targeting of biting females to control mosquito-borne infectious diseases
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT), Transmission distortion, X chromosomeB. B. Kojin, A. Compton, Z. N. Adelman and Z. Tu, Trends in Parasitology, 2022.
Mosquitoes are vectors for a number of infectious diseases. Only females feed on blood to provision for their embryos and, in doing so, transmit pathogens to the associated vertebrate hosts. Therefore, sex is an important phenotype in the context of genetic control programs, both ...
Mendel’s First Law: partisan interests and the parliament of genes
Tags: Evolution, Population suppression, Resistance, Transmission distortionC. Veller, Heredity, 2022.
Mendel’s First Law requires explanation because of the possibility of ‘meiotic drivers’, genes that distort fair segregation for selfish gain. The suppression of drive, and the restoration of fair segregation, is often attributed to genes at loci unlinked to the drive ...
Wolbachia interacts with the microbiome to shape fitness-associated traits during seasonal adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster
Tags: Incompatible insect technique, Other Symbionts, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaL. P. Henry, M. Fernandez, S. Wolf and J. Ayroles, bioRxiv, 2022.05.31.494239. 2022.
The microbiome contributes to many different host traits, but its role in host adaptation remains enigmatic. The fitness benefits of the microbiome often depend on ecological conditions, but fluctuations in both the microbiome and environment modulate these fitness benefits. ...
Recommendations for environmental risk assessment of gene drive applications for malaria vector control
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Modeling, Population suppression, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagement, Vector controlJ. B. Connolly, J. D. Mumford, D. C. M. Glandorf, S. Hartley, O. T. Lewis, S. W. Evans, G. Turner, C. Beech, N. Sykes, M. B. Coulibaly, J. Romeis, J. L. Teem, W. Tonui, B. Lovett, A. Mankad, A. Mnzava, S. Fuchs, T. D. Hackett, W. G. Landis, J. M. Marshall, Malar J, 21:152. 2022.
Building on an exercise that identified potential harms from simulated investigational releases of a population suppression gene drive for malaria vector control, a series of online workshops identified nine recommendations to advance future environmental risk assessment of gene ...
Wolbachia 16S rRNA haplotypes detected in wild Anopheles stephensi in eastern Ethiopia
Tags: Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaE. Waymire, S. Duddu, S. Yared, D. Getachew, D. Dengela, S. R. Bordenstein, M. Balkew, S. Zohdy, S. R. Irish and T. E. Carter, Parasites and Vectors, 15:178. 2022.
About two out of three Ethiopians are at risk of malaria, a disease caused by the parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Anopheles stephensi, an invasive vector typically found in South Asia and the Middle East, was recently found to be distributed across eastern ...
Strategies to Mitigate Establishment under the Wolbachia Incompatible Insect Technique
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Genetic biocontrol, Incompatible insect technique, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT), WolbachiaS. Soh, S. H. Ho, J. Ong, A. Seah, B. S. Dickens, K. W. Tan, J. R. Koo, A. R. Cook, S. Sim, C. H. Tan, L. C. Ng and J. T. Lim, Viruses, 14. 2022.
The Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) strategy involves the release of male mosquitoes infected with the bacterium Wolbachia. Regular releases of male Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes can lead to the suppression of mosquito populations, thereby reducing the risk of transmission of ...
Adversarial interspecies relationships facilitate population suppression by gene drive in spatially explicit models
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseY. Liu, W. Teo, H. Yang and J. Champer, bioRxiv, 2022.05.08.491087. 2022.
Suppression gene drives are designed to bias their inheritance and increase in frequency in a population, disrupting an essential gene in the process. When the frequency is high enough, the population will be unable to reproduce above the replacement level and could be ...
The fate of a suppressed X-linked meiotic driver: experimental evolution in Drosophila simulans
Tags: Fruit fly, Population suppression, Sex distorter, Transmission distortionH. Bastide, D. Ogereau, C. Montchamp-Moreau and P. R. Gérard, Chromosome Research, 2022.
Sex-ratio (SR) meiotic drivers are X-linked selfish genetic elements that promote their own transmission by preventing the production of Y-bearing sperm, which usually lowers male fertility. The spread of SR drivers in populations is expected to trigger the evolution of unlinked ...
The sterile insect technique is protected from evolution of mate discrimination
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, Resistance, Sterile insect technique (SIT)J. J. Bull and R. Gomulkiewicz, PeerJ, 10:e13301. 2022.
Background The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used to suppress and even extinguish pest insect populations. The method involves releasing artificially reared insects (usually males) that, when mating with wild individuals, sterilize the broods. If administered on a large ...
Propagation of seminal toxins through binary expression gene drives could suppress populations
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sex distorter, Toxin-antidoteJ. Hurtado, S. Revale and L. M. Matzkin, Scientific Reports, 12:6332. 2022.
Gene drives can be highly effective in controlling a target population by disrupting a female fertility gene. To spread across a population, these drives require that disrupted alleles be largely recessive so as not to impose too high of a fitness penalty. We argue that this ...
A homing suppression gene drive with multiplexed gRNAs maintains high drive conversion efficiency and avoids functional resistance alleles
Tags: CRISPR, Fruit fly, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, ResistanceE. Yang, M. Metzloff, A. M. Langmuller, X. J. Xu, A. G. Clark, P. W. Messer and J. Champer, G3-Genes Genomes Genetics, 13. 2022.
Gene drives are engineered alleles that can bias inheritance in their favor, allowing them to spread throughout a population. They could potentially be used to modify or suppress pest populations, such as mosquitoes that spread diseases. CRISPR/Cas9 homing drives, which copy ...
Cas9-mediated maternal-effect and derived resistance alleles in a gene-drive strain of the African malaria vector mosquito, Anopheles gambiae
Tags: Anopheles, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, ResistanceR. Carballar-Lejarazú, T. Tushar, T. B. Pham and A. A. James, Genetics, 2022.
CRISPR/Cas9 technologies are important tools for the development of gene-drive systems to modify mosquito vector populations to control the transmission of pathogens that cause diseases such as malaria. However, one of the challenges for current Cas9-based drive systems is their ...
Finding the strongest gene drive: Simulations reveal unexpected performance differences between Anopheles homing suppression drive candidates
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, X chromosomeS. E. Champer, I. K. Kim, A. G. Clark, P. W. Messer and J. Champer, bioRxiv, 2022.03.28.486009. 2022.
Recent experiments have produced several Anopheles gambiae homing gene drives that disrupt female fertility genes, thereby eventually inducing population collapse. Such drives may be highly effective tools to combat malaria. One such homing drive, based on the zpg promoter ...
Symbionts and gene drive: two strategies to combat vector-borne disease
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Other Symbionts, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaG.-H. Wang, J. Du, C. Y. Chu, M. Madhav, G. L. Hughes and J. Champer, Trends in Genetics, 2022.
Mosquitoes bring global health problems by transmitting parasites and viruses such as malaria and dengue. Unfortunately, current insecticide-based control strategies are only moderately effective because of high cost and resistance. Thus, scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective ...
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 ...
Gene drives and population persistence vs elimination: The impact of spatial structure and inbreeding at low density
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Y-chromosomeP. J. Beaghton and A. Burt, Theoretical Population Biology, 2022.
Synthetic gene drive constructs are being developed to control disease vectors, invasive species, and other pest species. In a well-mixed random mating population a sufficiently strong gene drive is expected to eliminate a target population, but it is not clear whether the same ...
An Ethical Overview of the CRISPR-Based Elimination of Anopheles gambiae to Combat Malaria
Tags: Anopheles, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, RegulationI. J. Wise and P. Borry, Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2022.
Approximately a quarter of a billion people around the world suffer from malaria each year. Most cases are located in sub-Saharan Africa where Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes are the principal vectors of this public health problem. With the use of CRISPR-based gene drives, the ...
A Closing Window of Opportunity for Gene Drive Governance in the United States
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Governance, Oxitec, Population suppression, RegulationK. L. Warmbrod, M. Montague and G. K. Gronvall, Health Security, 20:3-5. 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth a number of biotechnological advances to enhance the public's health: new diagnostic tests, mRNA vaccines, and new antiviral medications. Biotechnology is also being used to address global challenges like climate change, food insecurity, ...
Uniqueness and stability of periodic solutions for an interactive wild and Wolbachia-infected male mosquito model
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Incompatible insect technique, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaR. Yan and Q. Sun, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 2022.
We investigate a mosquito population suppression model, which includes the release of Wolbachia-infected males causing incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). The model consists of two sub-equations by considering the density-dependent birth rate of wild mosquitoes. By ...
Monitoring Needs for Gene Drive Mosquito Projects: Lessons From Vector Control Field Trials and Invasive Species
Tags: Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Oxitec, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaG. Rašić, N. F. Lobo, E. H. Jeffrey Gutiérrez, C. H. Sánchez and J. M. Marshall, Frontiers in Genetics, 12:780327. 2022.
As gene drive mosquito projects advance from contained laboratory testing to semi-field testing and small-scale field trials, there is a need to assess monitoring requirements to: i) assist with the effective introduction of the gene drive system at field sites, and ii) detect ...
A gene drive does not spread easily in populations of the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor
Tags: Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Other arthropods, Population suppressionN. R. Faber, A. B. Meiborg, G. R. McFarlane, G. Gorjanc and B. A. Harpur, Apidologie, 52:1112-1127. 2022.
Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are the most significant threat to beekeeping worldwide. They are directly or indirectly responsible for millions of colony losses each year. Beekeepers are somewhat able to control varroa populations through the use of physical and chemical ...
Lab-scale characterization and semi-field trials of Wolbachia Strain wAlbB in a Taiwan Wolbachia introgressed Ae. aegypti strain
Tags: Dengue, Incompatible insect technique, Mosquito husbandry, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaW. L. Liu, H. Y. Yu, Y. X. Chen, B. Y. Chen, S. N. Leaw, C. H. Lin, M. P. Su, L. S. Tsai, Y. Chen, S. H. Shiao, Z. Y. Xi, A. C. C. Jang and C. H. Chen, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 16:24. 2022.
Author summaryPrior to open field release, new genetic approaches that interfere with mosquito abilities and reduce mosquito population density require progressive evaluation both in the laboratory and contained field trials. Trials in contained outdoor systems are thus an ...
Gene drive that results in addiction to a temperature-sensitive version of an essential gene triggers population collapse in Drosophila
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Selfish genetic elements, Toxin-antidoteG. Oberhofer, T. Ivy and B. A. Hay, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118:e2107413118. 2021.
One strategy for population suppression seeks to use gene drive to spread genes that confer conditional lethality or sterility, providing a way of combining population modification with suppression. Stimuli of potential interest could be introduced by humans, such as an otherwise ...
Propagation of seminal toxins through binary expression gene drives can suppress polyandrous populations
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sex distorter, Toxin-antidoteJ. Hurtado, S. Revale and L. M. Matzkin, bioRxiv, 2021.11.23.469777. 2021.
Gene drives can be highly effective in controlling a target population by disrupting a female fertility gene. To spread across a population, these drives require that disrupted alleles be largely recessive so as not to impose too high of a fitness penalty. We argue that this ...
High-resolution in situ analysis of Cas9 germline transcript distributions in gene-drive Anopheles mosquitoes
Tags: Anopheles, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionG. Terradas, A. Hermann, A. A. James, W. McGinnis and E. Bier, G3-Genes Genomes Genetics, 2021.
Gene drives are programmable genetic elements that can spread beneficial traits into wild populations to aid in vector-borne pathogen control. Two different drives have been developed for population modification of mosquito vectors. The Reckh drive (vasa-Cas9) in Anopheles ...
Two years of laboratory studies on the non gene drive genetically modified sterile male mosquitoes concluded successfully in Mali
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaM. Coulibaly, Target Malaria, 2021.
The Target Malaria Mali team at the Malaria Research and Training Centre (MRTC) based at the University of Sciences, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako (USTTB) is proud to have been the first Malian research team to work on non gene drive genetically modified sterile male ...
Malaria modeling and optimal control using sterile insect technique and insecticide-treated net
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Modeling, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)L. Cai, L. Bao, L. Rose, J. Summers and W. Ding, Applicable Analysis, 2021.
We investigate a malaria transmission model with SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered) classes for the human population, SEI (susceptible-exposed-infected) classes for the wild mosquitoes and an additional class for the sterile mosquitoes. The basic reproduction number ...
Will freeing ourselves (forever) from mosquitoes soon be a realizable “dream”? Pros and cons of an epochal turning point – breaking latest news
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionAnnonymous, Breaking Latest News, 2021.
Also true for a dangerous insect like the mosquito: due to the pathologies of which vector, such as the malaria, the dengue o la yellow fever, every year in the world about 800 thousand people die. There are therefore quite a few reasons to want to get rid of it, not just the ...
Prevalence and molecular characterization of Wolbachia in field-collected Aedes albopictus, Anopheles sinensis, Armigeres subalbatus, Culex pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in China
Tags: Aedes, Anopheles, Arbovirus, Culex, Population suppression, WolbachiaY. Yang, Y. He, G. Zhu, J. Zhang, Z. Gong, S. Huang, G. Lu, Y. Peng, Y. Meng, X. Hao, C. Wang, J. Sun and S. Shang, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 15:e0009911. 2021.
Wolbachia are maternally transmitted intracellular bacteria that can naturally and artificially infect arthropods and nematodes. Recently, they were applied to control the spread of mosquito-borne pathogens by causing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) between germ cells of females ...
Conditional knockdown of transformer in sheep blow fly suggests a role in repression of dosage compensation and potential for population suppression
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Oceania, Population suppressionM. E. Williamson, Y. Yan and M. J. Scott, PLOS Genetics, 17:e1009792. 2021.
In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, a single gene (Sxl in D. melanogaster, fle in A. gambiae) controls the development of female-specific tissues and X chromosome dosage compensation, which is the equalization of X-linked gene products ...
Gene drive and RNAi technologies: a bio-cultural review of next-generation tools for pest wasp management in New Zealand
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Oceania, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Stakeholder engagementS. Palmer, P. K. Dearden, O. R. Mercier, A. King-Hunt and P. J. Lester, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1-18. 2021.
There is a global need for novel, next-generation technologies and techniques to manage pest species. We review work on potential step-changing technologies for large landscape (>1000 hectares) pest management of social Vespula wasps. We also review M?ori perspectives on these ...
Discrete dynamical models on Wolbachia infection frequency in mosquito populations with biased release ratios
Tags: Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, WolbachiaY. Shi and B. Zheng, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 2021.
We develop two discrete models to study how supplemental releases affect the Wolbachia spreading dynamics in cage mosquito populations. The first model focuses on the case when only infected males are released at each generation. This release strategy has been proved to be ...
Novel Sterile Insect Technology Program Results in Suppression of a Field Mosquito Population and Subsequently to Reduced Incidence of Dengue
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Lisiane de Castro Poncio, Filipe Apolinário dos Anjos, Deborah A de Oliveira, Débora Rebechi, et al., The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 224:1005-1014. 2021.
There is a steady rise in the global incidence of Aedes-borne arbovirus disease. It has become urgent to develop alternative solutions for mosquito vector control. We developed a new method of sterilization of male mosquitoes with the goal to suppress a local Aedes aegypti ...
A supernumerary “B-sex” chromosome drives male sex determination in the Pachón cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus
Tags: Chromosomal drive, Population suppressionB. Imarazene, K. Du, S. Beille, E. Jouanno, R. Feron, Q. Pan, J. Torres-Paz, C. Lopez-Roques, A. Castinel, L. Gil, C. Kuchly, C. Donnadieu, H. Parrinello, L. Journot, C. Cabau, M. Zahm, C. Klopp, T. Pavlica, A. Al-Rikabi, T. Liehr, S. A. Simanovsky, J. Bo, Current Biology, 2021.
Sex chromosomes are generally derived from a pair of classical type-A chromosomes, and relatively few alternative models have been proposed up to now.(1)(,)(2) B chromosomes (Bs) are supernumerary and dispensable chromosomes with non-Mendelian inheritance found in many plant and ...
Gene drive escape from resistance depends on mechanism and ecology
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Resistance, Toxin-antidoteF. Cook, J. J. Bull and R. Gomulkiewicz, bioRxiv, 2021.08.30.458221. 2021.
Gene drives can potentially be used to suppress pest populations, and the advent of CRISPR technology has made it feasible to engineer them in many species, especially insects. What remains largely unknown for implementations is whether anti-drive resistance will evolve to block ...
Gene drives gaining speed
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, UnderdominanceE. Bier, Nature Reviews Genetics, 2021.
Gene drives are selfish genetic elements that are transmitted to progeny at super-Mendelian (>50%) frequencies. Recently developed CRISPR–Cas9-based gene-drive systems are highly efficient in laboratory settings, offering the potential to reduce the prevalence of vector-borne ...
Host-associated differentiation of target pests should be assessed before using gene drive as a pest control tool – an opinion
Tags: Agriculture, Population suppressionR. F. Medina, Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2021.
Abstract Advances in gene editing have made feasible the potential use of gene drive for pest control. Ecological risk assessments will certainly be required before this technology can be released into open fields. In this article I argue for the importance to include ...
Scientists eradicate malaria-transmitting mosquitos using genetic engineering which make females infertile in new study which takes one step closer to wiping out the disease worldwide.
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaC. Ciaccia, Daily Mail, 2021.
Malaria kills nearly 500,000 people globally every year, but scientists have now figured out a way to use CRISPR gene-editing technology to make female mosquitoes infertile, described as a 'game-changer' for ending the deadly disease. Researchers from Imperial College London, ...
Genetic engineering may rid world of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionY. Steinbuch, New York Post, 2021.
Scientists have eradicated a population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes by using genetic engineering to make the females infertile — in what the lead researcher called a possible “game-changer in bringing about malaria elimination.” A team of researchers — led by ...
Transgenic expression of Nix converts genetic females into males and allows automated sex sorting in Aedes albopictus
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)C. Lutrat, R. P. Olmo, T. Baldet, J. Bouyer and E. Marois, bioRxiv, 2021.07.28.454191. 2021.
Aedes albopictus is a major vector of arboviruses. Better understanding of its sex determination is crucial for developing mosquito control tools, especially genetic sexing strains. In Aedes aegypti, Nix is the primary gene responsible for masculinization and Nix-expressing ...
Gene-Drive Technology Could Decimate Malaria-Carrying Mosquitoes–Scientists Use CRISPR to Modify the Insects’ Genes
Tags: Anopheles, Malaria, Population suppressionJ. Henry, Tech Times, 2021.
Gene-drive technology can now suppress the growing numbers of mosquitoes that carry malaria. A group of researchers discovered that this gene-editing technique can eradicate the vectors that could rapidly populate in a particular environment. A mosquito (Anopheles albimanus) is ...
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes could be bred out of existence using ‘gene drive’ technology
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionA. Wilkins, METRO, 2021.
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes have been eliminated using ‘gene drive’ technology in a nature-like environment, in a world-first study. By altering a gene that blocks female mosquito reproduction, and allowing that gene to spread, researchers found they could ensure complete ...
Scientists reveal controversial genetically modified mosquitoes in high-security lab
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionThe Frontier Post, The Frontier Post, 2021.
Many years of additional research will be needed to prove the approach works and the mosquitoes would be safe to release into the wild. The project would also require regulatory approval and agreement by local residents in areas where those mosquitoes live, mostly in sub-Saharan ...
Genetic engineering test with mosquitoes ‘may be game changer’ in eliminating malaria
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionL. Geddes, The Guardian, 2021.
Scientists have successfully wiped out a population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes by using a radical form of genetic engineering to render the females infertile – in the most advanced and largest ever test of use of the technology to fight the disease. As well as bringing ...
How An Altered Strand Of DNA Can Cause Malaria-Spreading Mosquitoes To Self-Destruct
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionR. Stein, NPR, 2021.
For the first time, scientists have shown that a new kind of genetic engineering can crash populations of malaria-spreading mosquitoes. In the landmark study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications, researchers placed the genetically modified mosquitoes in a ...
A lab experiment shows that we could engineer malaria-carrying mosquitoes to kill themselves off
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionA. Micu, ZME Science, 2021.
A new paper showcases how genetic engineering can be used to cause populations of malaria-spreading mosquitoes to self-destroy. An international research effort has shown, in the context of a lab experiment, that male mosquitoes engineered to carry a certain strand of DNA can ...
Malarial mosquitoes suppressed in experiments that mimic natural environments
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionH. Dunning, Phys Org, 2021.
Researchers have shown "gene drive" technology, which spreads a genetic modification blocking female reproduction, works in natural-like settings. The team, led by researchers from Imperial College London, Polo GGB and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine were able to suppress ...
Gene-drive suppression of mosquito populations in large cages as a bridge between lab and field
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionA. Hammond, P. Pollegioni, T. Persampieri, A. North, R. Minuz, A. Trusso, A. Bucci, K. Kyrou, I. Morianou, A. Simoni, T. Nolan, R. Müller and A. Crisanti, Nature Communications, 12:4589. 2021.
CRISPR-based gene-drives targeting the gene doublesex in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae effectively suppressed the reproductive capability of mosquito populations reared in small laboratory cages. To bridge the gap between laboratory and the field, this gene-drive ...
The Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) hsp83 Gene Promoter Drives Strong Ubiquitous DsRed and ZsGreen Marker Expression in Transgenic Mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Population suppressionS. H. Webster and M. J. Scott, Journal of Medical Entomology, 2021.
Transgenic strains of the mosquito disease vector Aedes aegypti (L.) are being developed for population suppression or modification. Transgenic mosquitoes are identified using fluorescent protein genes. Here we describe DsRed and ZsGreen marker genes driven by the constitutive ...
Combating mosquito-borne diseases using genetic control technologies
Tags: Dengue, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Underdominance, WolbachiaG.-H. Wang, S. Gamez, R. R. Raban, J. M. Marshall, L. Alphey, M. Li, J. L. Rasgon and O. S. Akbari, Nature Communications, 12:4388. 2021.
Mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria, pose significant global health burdens. Unfortunately, current control methods based on insecticides and environmental maintenance have fallen short of eliminating the disease burden. Scalable, deployable, genetic-based ...
Gene drive that results in addiction to a temperature sensitive version of an essential gene triggers population collapse in Drosophila
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Self limiting, Toxin-antidoteG. Oberhofer, B. Hay and T. Ivy, bioRxiv, 2021.07.03.451005. 2021.
One strategy for population suppression seeks to use gene drive to spread genes that confer conditional lethality or sterility, providing a way of combining population modification with suppression. Stimuli of potential interest could be introduced by humans, such as an otherwise ...
Wolbachia-mediated sterility suppresses Aedes aegypti populations in the urban tropics
Tags: Aedes, Incompatible insect technique, Population suppression, WolbachiaProject Wolbachia-Singapore Consortium, medRxiv, 2021.
Incompatible insect technique (IIT) via releases of male Wolbachiainfected mosquitoes is a promising tool for dengue control. In a three-year trial in Singaporean high-rise housing estates, we demonstrated that Wolbachia-based IIT dramatically reduces both wildtype Aedes aegypti ...
Area-Wide Integrated Management of a Glossina palpalis gambiensis Population from the Niayes Area Of Senegal: A review of operational research in support of a phased conditional approach
Tags: Other arthropods, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. J. B. Vreysen, M. T. Seck, B. Sall, A. G. Mbaye, M. Bassene, A. G. Fall, M. Lo and J. Bouyer, AREA-WIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT:, 2021.
In 2005, the Government of Senegal initiated a project entitled "Projet de lutte contre les glossines dans les Niayes" (Tsetse control project in the Niayes) with the aim of creating a zone free of Glossina palpalis gambiensis in that area. The project received technical and ...
New biocontrol research to help prevent mice plagues
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Oceania, Other mammals, Population suppression, RodentsAnonymous, The National Tribune, 2021.
Scientists at the University of Adelaide are partnering with the CSIRO and the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions on breakthrough genetic biocontrol research to help control mice populations and prevent future mice plagues. The three-year research program will identify fast ...
Experimental demonstration of tethered gene drive systems for confined population modification or suppression
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseM. Metzloff, E. Yang, S. Dhole, A. G. Clark, P. W. Messer and J. Champer, bioRxiv, 2021.05.29.446308. 2021.
Tethered drive systems, in which a locally confined gene drive provides the CRISPR nuclease needed for a homing drive, could provide a solution to this problem, offering the power of a homing drive and confinement of the supporting drive. Here, we demonstrate the engineering of a ...
Scientists want to alter rodent genes to prevent mice plagues
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Oceania, Other mammals, Population suppression, RodentsP. Hannon, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2021.
Mice plagues, such as the one ravaging parts of inland NSW, could become a thing of the past if scientists succeed in modifying the genes of the rodents so that populations crash before they can take off. Paul Thomas, a researcher at the University of Adelaide, is part of an ...
Modeling and analysis of the implementation of the Wolbachia incompatible and sterile insect technique for mosquito population suppression.
Tags: Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Incompatible insect technique, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, WolbachiaB. Zheng, J. S. Yu and J. Li, Siam Journal on Applied Mathematics, 81:718-740. 2021.
Mathematical analysis may offer guidance in designing effective mass release strategies for the area-wide application of this Wolbachia incompatible and sterile insect technique in the future. The two most crucial concerns in designing release strategies are how often and in what ...
Village hears from experts as genetic-mosquito release experiment nears.
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)J. McCarthy, KEYSWEEKLY, 2021.
On March 18, Islamorada Village Council heard from several independent scientists who discussed information and issues behind the genetically modified mosquitoes for population and disease suppression. The scientists collectively said they’re neither for nor against the ...
The ethical scientist in a time of uncertainty
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagement, Target malariaL. Zoloth, Cell, 184:1430-1439. 2021.
Using the example of gene drives for malaria control to explore the problem of deep uncertainty in biomedical research, I argue that profound uncertainty is an essential feature. Applying the language and presumptions of the discipline of philosophical ethics, I describe three ...
Ultra-conserved sequences in the genomes of highly diverse Anopheles mosquitoes, with implications for malaria vector control
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, ResistanceS. M. O'Loughlin, A. J. Forster, S. Fuchs, T. Dottorini, T. Nolan, A. Crisanti and A. Burt, G3-Genes Genomes Genetics, 2021.
Here we search for conserved sequences of 18bp and over in an alignment of 21 Anopheles genomes, spanning an evolutionary timescale of 100 million years, and characterise the resulting sequences according to their location and function. Over 8000 ultra-conserved elements were ...
Meiotic Cas9 expression mediates genotype conversion in the male and female mouse germline.
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, RodentsA. J. Weitzel, H. A. Grunwald, R. Levina, V. M. Gantz, S. M. Hedrick, E. Bier and K. L. Cooper, 2021.03.16.435716, 2021.
We previously showed that such a system of genotype conversion from heterozygous to homozygous after a sequence targeted CRISPR/Cas9 double strand DNA break is feasible in the female mouse germline. In the male germline, however, all double strand breaks were instead repaired by ...
Mosquito anxiety prompts query from congressman
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)T. Java, Keynews.com, 2021.
Anxiety among some residents over the pending release of hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes next month in undisclosed locations throughout the Florida Keys has prompted Congressman Carlos Gimenez to seek answers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ...
femaleless Controls Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation Pathways in Females of Anopheles Mosquitoes
Tags: Gene editing, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionE. 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 ...
Sex Determination and Dosage Compensation: femaleless Is the Link in Anopheles Mosquitoes
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionM. Scott, Current Biology, 31:R260-R263. 2021.
A new study finds that the femaleless gene is essential for sexual development and repression of X-chromosome dosage compensation in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. This could provide the basis for a new genetic approach to control this pest.
In Uganda, genetically modified mosquitoes bring hope and fear
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Target malariaAnonymous, africanews, 2021.
Scientists here are investigating whether populations of the malaria-carrying insects can be reduced by genetic modification. They're looking at the viability of releasing large numbers of genetically modified mosquitos into the wild to influence future generations. The study ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes for better health
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Risk assessmentD. 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 ...
Tensions rise as GM mosquito release nears in Florida Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)T. O'Hara, Keynews.com, 2021.
Tensions seem to be rising as a planned release of genetically modified mosquitoes nears. The British-based biotech company Oxitec plans to release genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the Florida Keys sometime after April, but has yet to disclose exact locations in ...
Quantifying the risk of vector-borne disease transmission attributable to genetically modified vectors
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk assessmentG. 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 ...
Florida Keys moves forward with genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)H. Vela, local10.com, 2021.
The feared GMO mosquitoes are not going away. Opponents of the technology fear the date of the release in the Florida Keys is getting closer, and they are not ready for the possible repercussions of the experiment. The fight over whether or not to release genetically modified ...
When and where will millions of mosquitoes be released? Here are details for Florida Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2021.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District announced this week a wide and vague planned range of deployment for the lab-designed mosquitoes — neighborhoods from mile marker 10 to 93. The trial is being conducted by British biotech company Oxitec. It’s a method approved by the ...
Mosquito trial will begin in April, but Keys locations won’t be disclosed
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Matthis, KEYSWEEKLY, 2021.
FKMCD spokesman Chad Huff wrote in an email, “The physical location of each box is still being finalized. Since most will be situated on private property at owner request, FKMCD-Oxitec will NOT be providing specific addresses due to privacy concerns and protection of project ...
Modeling impact and cost-effectiveness of gene drives for malaria elimination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, X chromosomeN. Metchanun, C. Borgemeister, G. Amzati, J. von Braun, M. Nikolov, P. Selvaraj and J. Gerardin, medRxiv, 2020.06.29.20142760. 2021.
Using a spatially explicit, agent-based model of malaria transmission in eight representative provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we predict the impact and cost-effectiveness of integrating driving-Y gene drive mosquitoes in malaria elimination strategies that ...
Oxitec gears up for test releases
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)T. O'Hara, Keynews.com, 2021.
The United Kingdom-based biotech company Oxitec will soon announce the test locations and timetable for releasing its genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
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 ...
Exploring Gene Drive Technologies in Agriculture, Biodiversity and Human Disease
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementThe GBIRd Partnership and The GeneConvene Global Collaborative, Gene Drive Research Forum, 2021.
The GBIRd Partnership and The GeneConvene Global Collaborative recently collaborated through The Gene Drive Research Forum, to create and produce an engaging conversation between Drs. Fred Gould and Charles Godfray about gene drive technologies – the potential benefits and ...
CRISPR and the splice to survive: New gene-editing technology could be used to save species from extinction—or to eliminate them.
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Mosquitoes, Oceania, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionE. Kolbert, New Yorker, 2021.
About a year ago, not long before the pandemic began, I paid a visit to the center, which is an hour southwest of Melbourne. The draw was an experiment on a species of giant toad known familiarly as the cane toad. The toad was introduced to Australia as an agent of pest control, ...
Double drives and private alleles for localised population genetic control
Tags: Anopheles, Containment, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionK. Willis and A. Burt, bioRxiv, 2021.01.08.425856. 2021.
In this paper we propose and model a series of low threshold double drive designs for population suppression, each consisting of two constructs, one imposing a reproductive load on the population and the other inserted into a differentiated locus and controlling the drive of the ...
Next-generation tools to control biting midge populations and reduce pathogen transmission
Tags: Agriculture, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Other mammals, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Regulation, Stakeholder engagement, WolbachiaP. Shults, L. W. Cohnstaedt, Z. N. Adelman and C. Brelsfoard, Parasites and Vectors, 14:31. 2021.
Biting midges of the genus Culicoides transmit disease-causing agents resulting in a significant economic impact on livestock industries in many parts of the world. Localized control efforts, such as removal of larval habitat or pesticide application, can be logistically ...
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 ...
Control of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes using gene drives
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, ResistanceT. Nolan, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376:20190803. 2020.
In this article, I will discuss the relative merits of this type of gene drive, as well as barriers to its technical development and to its deployment in the field as malaria control. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Novel control strategies for mosquito-borne ...
Evading resistance to gene drives
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Resistance, Toxin-antidoteR. Gomulkiewicz, M. L. Thies and J. J. Bull, bioRxiv, 2020.08.27.270611. 2020.
Our analyses suggest that among gene drives that cause moderate suppression, toxin-antidote systems are less apt to select for resistance than homing drives. Single drives of moderate effect might cause only moderate population suppression, but multiple drives (perhaps delivered ...
Targeting female flight for genetic control of mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Culex, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Mosquitoes, Population suppressionD. Navarro-Payá, I. Flis, M. A. E. Anderson, P. Hawes, M. Li, O. S. Akbari, S. Basu and L. Alphey, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14:e0008876. 2020.
The yellow fever mosquito and the Southern house mosquito are important vectors of infectious diseases. Given their widespread presence across tropical and subtropical regions of the world and the increased risk of spread due to global warming there is a growing need for ...
Modelling the Wolbachia incompatible insect technique: strategies for effective mosquito population elimination
Tags: Aedes, Incompatible insect technique, Modeling, Mosquitoes, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT), WolbachiaD. E. Pagendam, B. J. Trewin, N. Snoad, S. A. Ritchie, A. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Staunton, C. Paton and N. Beebe, BMC Biology, 18:13. 2020.
We introduce a simple Markov population process model for studying mosquito populations subjected to a Wolbachia-IIT programme which exhibit an unstable equilibrium threshold. The model is used to study, in silico, scenarios that are likely to yield a successful elimination ...
Combined Effects of Mating Disruption, Insecticides, and the Sterile Insect Technique on Cydia pomonella in New Zealand
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Moths, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)R. M. Horner, P. L. Lo, D. J. Rogers, J. T. S. Walker and D. M. Suckling, Insects, 11:23. 2020.
We aimed to supplement these tactics with the sterile insect technique (SIT) to further suppress the codling moth on orchards. SIT involves mass rearing and sterilizing codling moth and then releasing them onto orchards where they mate with wild insects resulting in no offspring. ...
ARRIGE 2020 Meeting | The promise of CRISPR and gene drive systems to end malaria in Africa
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagement, Target malaria, Video, WebinarE. Gomez-Diaz, ARRIGE org, 2020.
Presentation by Elena Gómez Díaz (IPBLN-CSIC, Granada, Spain) at the ARRIGE 2020 meeting on "The promise of CRISPR and gene drive systems to end malaria in Africa". Discussion is included at the end of the Ruud de Maagd presentation.https://youtu.be/te3MJ8EZoes
Gene drives, species, and compassion for individuals in conservation biology
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safetyY. Rohwer, Ethics, Policy and Environment, 2020.
In this paper I argue that these compassionate conservationists have a moral obligation to support the investigation and development of genetic modification technologies because of their potential to minimize suffering and eliminate killing in conservation. Furthermore, I will ...
When Extinction is Warranted: Invasive Species, Suppression-Drives, and the Worst-Case Scenario
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Gene drive synthetic, Invasive species, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safetyA. C. Thresher, Ethics, Policy and Environment, 2020.
The focus of this paper is on one such risk ? the danger of a suppression-drive escaping containment and wiping out the target species globally. Here, I argue that in most cases this risk is significant enough to warrant holding off on the technology. In some cases, however, we ...
Gene Drives: A Controversial Tool to Fight Malaria
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, RegulationH. Albert, LABIOTECH.eu, 2020.
The possibility of creating gene drives was introduced into the scientific community in 2003 by Austin Burt, a professor at Imperial College London. Burt was studying ‘selfish genes’ that can copy themselves into a specific target DNA sequence. He suggested that these genes, ...
Expert advises farmers to adopt gene drive-based pest control technology
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Pest management, Population suppressionS. Thompson, naija247news, 2020.
Dr Rose Gidado, County Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology(OFAB), has advised farmers to adopt the gene drive-based pest control technology. Gidado, also Deputy Director, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said the adoption would significantly ...
Fighting Mosquito With GMO Mosquito: The Battle Brewing in the Florida Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. MacLaughlin, NBC 6 South Florida, 2020.
Scientists are a few months into an experiment to stop the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito. Their weapon of choice? A genetically modified mosquito. But some environment advocates question the strategy. This year, the Florida Keys had an outbreak of Dengue fever, which was ...
Florida will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. McGlaun, Slash Gear, 2020.
Local officials in Florida have announced that they have approved 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released into the environment to reduce local populations of the bloodsucking creatures. The goal of releasing genetically modified mosquitoes is to help reduce the ...
Is Gene Editing the Answer to Eradicating Malaria in Africa?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionStaff, ASH Clinical News, 2020.
Researchers are looking at a new technique to eradicate malaria: Engineering mosquitoes with a “gene drive” – a gene that when inserted into mosquitoes (or other organisms) will be passed on to nearly 100% of the offspring in the next generation, rather than just half the ...
Mosquito transgenics and courtship songs
Tags: Gene editing, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Population suppressionH. 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 ...
GeneConvene Global Collaborative Webinar Series | Gene Drive Technical Webinars
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic incompatibilities, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, WebinarDavid O'Brochta and Hector Quemada, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2020.
A series of technical webinars on engineered gene drive technology research and development given by leading researchers in the field.
Assessing the acoustic behaviour of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) dsxF mutants: implications for vector control
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, Sex distorterM. P. Su, M. Georgiades, J. Bagi, K. Kyrou, A. Crisanti and J. T. Albert, Parasites and Vectors, 13:507. 2020.
We analysed sound emissions and acoustic preference in a doublesex mutant previously used to collapse Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) cages.
You should be excited that scientists are releasing 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes this year
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)L. Westreich, Massive Science, 2020.
GM mosquitoes are successful in reducing mosquito populations, and reducing disease spread
The Con Job at Mosquito Control Board
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)E. Russo and B. Wray, keysnews.com, 2020.
Shouldn’t there be a consensus among scholars, scientists, experts and the public that this new technology is safe?
Resistance to natural and synthetic gene drive systems
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Selfish genetic elements, Sex distorter, Transmission distortion, WolbachiaT. A. R. Price, N. Windbichler, R. L. Unckless, A. Sutter, J.-N. Runge, P. A. Ross, A. Pomiankowski, N. L. Nuckolls, C. Montchamp-Moreau, N. Mideo, O. Y. Martin, A. Manser, M. Legros, A. M. Larracuente, L. Holman, J. Godwin, N. Gemmell, C. Courret, A. Buc, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2020.
This review summarizes our current knowledge of drive resistance in both natural and synthetic gene drives. We explore how insights from naturally occurring and synthetic drive systems can be integrated to improve the design of gene drives, better predict the outcome of releases ...
Risks of releasing gene drives mosquitoes – a possible future scenario
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safetyTestbiotech, 2020.
Genetically engineering the genome of an organism with gene drive means that it will be replicated in every following generation. This allows the altered gene to spread rapidly throughout natural populations, which may be decimated or even eradicated. The video contains both ...
GMOs make war on mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Staff, Kenosha News, 2020.
Given that recent record, we were a bit surprised to read that there was a ruckus over genetically modified mosquitoes going on in the Florida Keys.
Why Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Won’t Come to Texas Anytime Soon
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)C. Adams, RA News, 2020.
Talks about releasing genetically modified mosquitoes in Houston began in 2018 between Harris County and Oxitec, a United Kingdom-based company that produces sustainable technologies or transgenic methodologies to stem the impact of disease-spreading insects. Talk also began ...
An accident waiting to happen: Tech company to release 750 MILLION GMO mosquitoes in Florida to fight dengue fever
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Z. Sky, NEWSTARGET, 2020.
Oxitec plans to release 750 million OX5034s into the Florida Keys, something that sounds like the beginning of a doomed science-fiction movie. But the most shocking thing here is the fact that Oxitec received the EPA’s approval in May.
Genetically-modified mosquito plan offers hope for Keys, world
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)P. Goodman, keynews.com, 2020.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District Board of Commissioners voted 4-to-1 to approve a trial using Oxitec’s second-generation genetically modified mosquitoes. I
The good mosquito versus the bad
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Datta, Business Standard, 2020.
Starting 2021, around 750 million genetically modified (GM) Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes will be released in batches into the Florida Keys.
Florida Will Release 750 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Stop Disease Spread
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Fahmy, verywell health, 2020.
The hope is to prevent the spread of Dengue fever, a painful virus acquired only by mosquito bite which made a reappearance in the Florida Keys in 2009.
Evading evolution of resistance to gene drives
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, ResistanceR. Gomulkiewicz, M. L. Thies and J. J. Bull, bioRxiv, 2020.
Here we develop mathematical and computational models to identify conditions under which suppression drives will evade resistance, even if resistance is present initially.
Deep dive: Florida’s GM mosquito experiment aims to rewrite rules of vector-borne diseases
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Kannan, India Today, 2020.
A pathbreaking bioengineering experiment on mosquito populations that could have massive implications for tropical malaria-affected countries like India has got underway in Florida, US.
Fighting mosquito-borne diseases… with mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT), WolbachiaN. Gubert and A. Baubeau, Phys Org, 2020.
For decades, researchers have scratched their heads over how to combat deadly mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever.
Bug board OKs release of genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)T. O'Hara, keynews.com, 2020.
After nearly 10 years of debate, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District board has approved an agreement with biotech company Oxitec to conduct a test release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Monroe County as part of a mosquito limiting or eradication plan.
Genetically modified mosquitoes to be released in the Florida Keys to combat dengue, zika, and yellow fever.
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Yucatan Times, Yucatan Times, 2020.
The Florida Keys will be the scene of the first test in the United States with genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, an alternative to insecticides and larvicides to end the transmission of diseases such as dengue, zika and yellow fever that has always been surrounded ...
Transgenic moths released to end one of the worst pests on the planet
Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)B. Mandalia, Pledge Times, 2020.
Today the results of the first open field experiment with another of the creations of this biotechnology company are published. It is a variant of the moth Plutella xylostella which is one of the worst agricultural pests in the world.
750 million genetically modified mosquitoes soon released in the wild!
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)explica, explica, 2020.
Rather frightening mosquitoes will be released on an archipelago in Florida. The goal? Reduce the population of their more dangerous congeners who can transmit certain diseases.
US to Use Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Dengue Fever
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)H. Badr, Asharq Al-Awsat, 2020.
After a decade of discussions, officials in Florida have voted to allow the first test in the United States of free-flying, genetically modified mosquitoes that kill any female offspring, as a way to fight the pests and the diseases they spread.
Florida Keys to Use Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Disease
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)B. Lynn, Voice of America, 2020.
Officials in the Florida Keys plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes next year in an effort to fight insect-borne diseases.
Florida Approves Controversial Plan to Release 750 Million Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Rakshit, Swaddle, 2020.
Authorities in Florida have approved a pilot project that will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes locally, in a bid to reduce the populations of mosquitoes that cause that cause dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever
Mutant bugs released to fight disease
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)The Day, The Day, 2020.
Authorities have approved the scheme in Florida but environmental groups are furious, calling it a “Jurassic Park experiment” that will unleash a “mutant bug” into the ecosystem.
More than 750 million GMO mosquitoes to be released over Florida Keys – what could go wrong?
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)E. Huff, Natural News, 2020.
The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) has given Oxitec, a corporation we have reported on in the past, permission to unleash some 750 million GMO mosquitos in Monroe County, Florida, over the next two years.
Florida to release genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent diseases like Zika
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)The West News, The West News, 2020.
Local authorities on Tuesday gave final approval to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a two-year period, starting in 2021.
Genetically modified mosquitoes have been OK’d for a first U.S. test flight
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Milius, ScienceNews, 2020.
After a decade of fits and starts, officials in the Florida Keys have voted to allow the first test in the United States of free-flying, genetically modified mosquitoes as a way to fight the pests and the diseases they spread.
Florida Will Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Disease in the Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Harrell, Spectrum News, 2020.
Following lengthy federal and state procedures, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District this week approved a plan to release more than 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Keys region to combat an invasive, disease-carrying species of the insect.
Florida is releasing 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the world. Here’s why
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)H. Schriber, Deseret News, 2020.
Florida officials plan to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys over the next two years as a way to prevent diseases like the Zika virus. The project will begin in 2021. The Environment Protection Agency approved the idea in May. The project ...
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Be Released In Florida Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Snow, The Daily Wire, 2020.
CNN reported that the genetically modified bugs, called OX5034, have been “altered to produce female offspring that die in the larval stage, well before hatching and growing large enough to bite and spread disease.” Since it’s the female of the species that bite, they are ...
Release 750 Million Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Into the Wild, They Said
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)C. Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 2020.
Corporate scientists have received final approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release hundreds of millions of genetically altered mosquitoes into the Florida Keys. The goal? To begin reining in the mosquito population, which is only expected to increase as ...
Florida releasing genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent diseases like Zika
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)N. Lanese, LiveScience, 2020.
Hundreds of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes will soon be released in the Florida Keys island chain to wipe out local populations of disease-carrying mosquitoes, according to news reports.
750 Million GM Mosquitoes Will Be Released in the Florida Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)L. Winter, The Scientist, 2020.
With the aim of reducing rates of the mosquito-borne illnesses yellow fever and dengue, a pilot program will release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes into the Florida Keys in 2021, thanks to approval by the barrier islands’ Mosquito Control District Board of ...
Hundreds Of Millions Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Approved For Release In US
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)J. Vibes, Anonymous News, 2020.
A Biotech company called Oxitec has received permission from the government to release hundreds of millions of genetically modified male mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
Why Hundreds of Millions of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Will Soon Be Released in Florida
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)K. Gander, Newsweek, 2020.
Hundreds of millions of genetically engineered mosquitoes will soon be released in Florida, in a first for the U.S. On Tuesday, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) approved plans to release the insects, who do not bite, as part of a pilot project launching next ...
Florida to release genetically modified mosquitoes, detractors blast ‘Jurassic Park’ experiment
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Aaro, Fox News, 2020.
Local authorities on Tuesday gave final approval to release 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys over a two-year period, starting in 2021, with the hope of preventing diseases such as the Zika virus but has faced blowback and comparisons to a Steven ...
750 million genetically modified mosquitoes to be released across Florida Keys
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Zahid, Sky News, 2020.
Authorities have approved plans for genetically modified mosquitoes to be released across the Florida Keys from next year. British-based firm Oxitec has designed the project to test whether the altered mosquitoes are a viable alternative to pesticides to control and prevent the ...
750 million GM mosquitos set for release in Florida Keys.
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Editorial Staff, E&T, 2020.
Local authorities have approved proposals to release hundreds of millions of genetically modified (GM) modified mosquitos in Florida, in an effort to control populations of diseases spread by the organism.
Florida Plans to Fix Its Mosquito Problem With 750 Million More Mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Noor, Gizmodo, 2020.
Hundreds of millions of mosquitos will soon be released in Florida. On purpose. The mosquitoes are being released as a form of pest control, but they could wreak havoc on local ecosystems.
Florida mosquitoes: 750 million genetically modified insects to be released
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)BBC, BBC, 2020.
Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to reduce local populations. The aim is to reduce the number of mosquitoes that carry diseases like dengue or the Zika virus.
Florida OKs release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Keys to slow insect disease spread
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)S. Mann, Just the News, 2020.
Florida officials are authorizing a biotech company to release hundreds of millions of genetically-modified male mosquitoes into the Florida Keys to reduce future mosquito populations that spread diseases including yellow fever and malaria.
Florida Keys to release modified mosqutioes to fight illness
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)C. Anderson, Associated Press, 2020.
Sometime next year, genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in the Florida Keys in an effort to combat persistent insect-borne diseases such as Dengue fever and the Zika virus. The plan approved this week by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District calls for a pilot ...
Florida to Release Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Against Local Residents’ Wishes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)N. Rice, People, 2020.
A plan to release over 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys has received final approval. According to CNN, on Tuesday, local authorities approved a plan to release the genetically modified mosquitoes in the Sunshine State's string of islands, with the ...
Plan to Release 750M GMO Mosquitoes Gets Go Ahead
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)R. Quinn, newser, 2020.
The plan to release the genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes received final approval from local authorities Tuesday, causing an outcry from groups opposed to what they call a "Jurassic Park experiment," CNN reports.
‘A Jurassic Park Experiment’: Watchdog Groups Denounce Decision to Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes in Florida
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)L. Newcomb, Common Dreams, 2020.
Food safety and environmental groups Wednesday condemned a decision by officials in Florida to approve the release of 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes, a pilot project aimed at reducing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.
Florida Keys to release 750M genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Haynes, UPI, 2020.
Local authorities in the Florida Keys gave their approval Wednesday to a plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes to prevent the spread of dengue fever and other diseases. The Monroe County Mosquito Control District signed off on the project, which would release about 750 ...
To combat disease-spreading mosquitoes in the Keys, leaders vote to unleash lab bugs
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Population suppression, Self limiting, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2020.
Florida Keys officials have voted to allow the experimental release of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes into a yet-to-be-decided area of the island chain.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility: an autocidal mechanism for mosquito population control
Tags: Aedes, Culex, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Population suppression, WolbachiaV. Dev, BugBitten BMC, 2020.
Cytoplasmic incompatibility resulting in non-reciprocal fertility is a naturally occurring phenomenon, but remains unexplored to greater extent for the control of insect vector populations. This mechanism deserves priority for mosquito control and reducing disease transmission, ...
Modelling the suppression of a malaria vector using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive to reduce female fertility
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseA. R. North, A. Burt and H. C. J. Godfray, BMC Biology, 18:98. 2020.
Gene drives based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology are increasingly being considered as tools for reducing the capacity of mosquito populations to transmit malaria, and one of the most promising options is driving endonuclease genes that reduce the fertility of female mosquitoes. Here, ...
Maintenance management and eradication of established aquatic invaders
Tags: Biodiversity/Conservation, Biological control, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Gene editing, Invasive species, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. Simberloff, Hydrobiologia, 22. 2020.
The rapid development of technologies based on genetics has engendered excitement about possibly eradicating or controlling terrestrial invaders, and such technologies may also prove useful for certain aquatic invaders. Methods of particular interest, alone or in various ...
Modeling the suppression dynamics of Aedes mosquitoes with mating inhomogeneity
Tags: Aedes, Cytoplasmic incompatibility, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Modeling, Population suppression, WolbachiaM. Huang and L. Hu, Journal of Biological Dynamics, 14:656-678. 2020.
In this work, we introduce a delay differential equation model with mating inhomogeneity to discuss mosquito population suppression based on Wolbachia. Our analyses show that the wild mosquitoes could be eliminated if either the adult mortality rate exceeds the threshold δ∗A ...
A One-Sided Competition Mathematical Model for the Sterile Insect Technique
Tags: Modeling, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)A. Ben Dhahbi, Y. Chargui, S. M. Boulaaras and S. Ben Khalifa, Complexity, 2020:12. 2020.
We study a simple mathematical model describing the dynamics of a wild-type pest insects population experiencing competition from sterile insects (one-sided competition).
Nix alone is sufficient to convert female Aedes aegypti into fertile males and myo-sex is needed for male flight
Tags: Aedes, Fruit fly, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT), Y-chromosomeA. Aryan, M. A. E. Anderson, J. K. Biedler, Y. M. Qi, J. M. Overcash, A. N. Naumenko, M. V. Sharakhova, C. H. Mao, Z. N. Adelman and Z. J. Tu, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117:17702-17709. 2020.
Here, we report the generation of multiple transgenic lines that express Nix under the control of its own promoter. Genetic and molecular analyses of these lines provided insights unattainable from previous transient experiments. We show that the Nix transgene alone, in the ...
Tackling Dengue fever by turning female mosquitoes into males
Tags: Aedes, Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Sex distorterT. Sandle, DIGTAL JOURNAL, 2020.
T. Sandle (2020). DIGTAL JOURNAL Genetic engineering appears to be the key for delivering mosquito control, according to new research. Scientists have successfully converted female mosquitoes into non-biting males.
Researchers convert female mosquitoes to nonbiting males with implications for mosquito control
Tags: Aedes, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Virginia Tech, ScienceDaily, 2020.
Researchers convert female mosquitoes to nonbiting males with implications for mosquito control Virginia Tech researchers have proven that a single gene can convert female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes into fertile male mosquitoes and identified a gene needed for male mosquito ...
Role of gene drives in malaria elimination strategy: modeling impact and cost-effectiveness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, X chromosomeN. Metchanun, C. Borgemeister, J. von Braun, M. Nikolov, P. Selvaraj and J. Gerardin, medRxiv, 2020.
The tremendous burden of malaria has led to renewed efforts on malaria elimination and the development of novel tools for application where existing tools fall short. Gene drive mosquitoes, where transgenes and their associated phenotypes are efficiently propagated to future ...
Analysis of a Strong Suppressor of Segregation Distorter inDrosophila melanogaster
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive mechanisms, Population suppression, Transmission distortionR. G. Temin, Genetics, 215:1085-1105. 2020.
These studies highlight the polygenic nature of distortion and its dependence on a constellation of positive and negative modifiers, provide insight into the stability of Mendelian transmission in natural populations even when a drive system arises, and pave the way for molecular ...
ENSSER | Gene Drive Webinar Series
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagement, WebinarEuropean Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, 2020.
This series of five Webinars by some of the authors of the interdisciplinary Gene Drive Report (2019) and were organised by four organisations of independent scientists: the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), Critical Scientists ...
Hope rises as scientists eliminate malaria mosquitoes
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterA. Adeyemi, New Telegraph, 2020.
A team of researchers led by Imperial College London have spread a genetic modification that distorted the sex ratio through a population of caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes using ‘gene drive’ technology. According to the results of their study published yesterday in ...
Malaria mosquitoes eliminated in lab by creating all-male offsprings
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterAishwarya, Inshorts, 2020.
Imperial College London-led team used 'gene drive' technology to spread genetic modification that distorted sex ratio through caged breed of malaria mosquitoes. This caused mosquitoes to produce more male offspring, eventually leading to no female birth. The study suggested such ...
Researchers use “gene drive” technology to eliminate malaria mosquitoes in lab experiments
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterJ. Ives, News Medical Life Sciences, 2020.
A team led by Imperial College London spread a genetic modification that distorts the sex ratio through a population of caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes using 'gene drive' technology.
Genetically-manipulated male mosquitoes could eliminate females
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterB. Coxworth, New Atlas, 2020.
Several years ago, we heard how scientists were looking at eradicating malaria-carrying mosquitoes by making the females infertile. Now they're going a step further, by eliminating the females altogether.
Researchers discover way to eliminate malaria carrying mosquitoes
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterS. Digon, International Business Times, 2020.
Researchers from the Imperial College London have come up with a genetic modification that will pave the way for the elimination of malaria mosquitoes. Scientists say that the alteration distorts the sex ratio of caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes using what they call a ‘gene ...
The malaria mosquito is eliminated in the lab by creating a population of all males
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterNewsDesk, Instant, 2020.
A team led by Imperial College London disseminates genetic modification that distorts the sex ratio through the Anopheles gambiae mosquito population that is locked up using ‘gene drive’ technology.
Gene editing and the war against malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionE. Bier and E. Sobber, American Scientist, 102:162. 2020.
Malaria is a devastating disease transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes. It kills more than 400,000 people per year, more than half of those deaths being children 5 years old or younger. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a new ...
Gene editing could fight malaria by causing only male mosquitos to be born
Tags: Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterL. Dormehl, Digital Trends, 2020.
What’s the theoretically easiest way to ensure that a population of mosquitos is not able to sustain itself through breeding? Make sure that there aren’t enough females, of course. That’s the exploratory approach being pioneered by researchers at the U.K.’s Imperial ...
Antiviral effectors and gene drive strategies for mosquito population suppression or replacement to mitigate arbovirus transmission by Aedes aegypti
Tags: Aedes, Arbovirus, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionA. E. Williams, A. W. E. Franz, W. R. Reid and K. E. Olson, Insects, 11:1-18. 2020.
The mosquito vector Aedes aegypti transmits arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) of medical importance, including Zika, dengue, and yellow fever viruses. Controlling mosquito populations remains the method of choice to prevent disease transmission. Novel mosquito control ...
Design and analysis of CRISPR-based underdominance toxin-antidote gene drives
Tags: CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic engineering, Modeling, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Toxin-antidote, UnderdominanceChamper, J., S. E. Champer, I. Kim, A. G. Clark and P. W. Messer, bioRxiv, 861435:861435. 2019.
CRISPR gene drive systems offer a mechanism for transmitting a desirable transgene throughout a population for purposes ranging from vector-borne disease control to invasive species suppression. In this simulation study, we model and assess the performance of several CRISPR-based ...
Identification and characterisation of a Masculinizer homolog in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella
Tags: Gene drive, Gene drive mechanisms, Gene drive synthetic, Moths, Other arthropods, Population suppressionHarvey-Samuel, T., V. C. Norman, R. Carter, E. Lovett and L. Alphey, Insect Molecular Biology, 2019:2019. 2019.
Recently, a novel sex-determination system was identified in the silkworm (Bombyx mori) in which a piRNA encoded on the female-specific W chromosome silences a Z-linked gene (Masculinizer) which would otherwise initiate male sex-determination and dosage compensation. ...
Scientists release sterile mosquitoes in Burkina to fight malaria
Tags: Africa, Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Target malariaT. Ndiaga, Reuters, 2019.
Scientists in Burkina Faso have deployed a new weapon in the fight against malaria, and waded into a thorny bioethics debate, by letting loose thousands of genetically sterilized mosquitoes.Their experiment is the first outside the lab to release genetically altered mosquitoes in ...
Viral gene drive in herpesviruses
Tags: Arbovirus, Gene drive synthetic, Genetics, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseWalter, M. and E. Verdin, bioRxiv, 2019:717017. 2019.
Herpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens in need of novel therapeutic solutions. Current engineered gene drive strategies rely on sexual reproduction, and are thought to be restricted to sexual organisms. Here, we report on the design of a novel gene drive system that allows the ...
Engineered resistance to Zika virus in transgenic Aedes aegypti expressing a polycistronic cluster of synthetic small RNAs
Tags: Aedes, Arbovirus, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Resistance, Vector control, WolbachiaBuchman, AG, S.; Li, M.; Antoshechkin, I.; Li, H. H.; Wang, H. W.; Chen, C. H.; Klein, M. J.; Duchemin, J. B.; Paradkar, P. N.; Akbari, O. S., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116:3656-3661. 2019.
Recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks have highlighted the necessity for development of novel vector control strategies to combat arboviral transmission, including genetic versions of the sterile insect technique, artificial infection with Wolbachia to reduce population size and/or ...
The ethical implications of population suppression and the irreversibility of gene drives
Tags: Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Population suppression, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementJ. Kim, International Journal of Life Sciences Research, 2018.
This paper aims to examine the current situation by presenting important ethical arguments that include Chardin’s principle of irreversibility and Weiss’ beliefs on intergenerational equity, ideals upheld by the United Nations
Strong hybrid male incompatibilities impede the spread of a selfish chromosome between populations of a fly
Tags: Other arthropods, Population suppression, Selfish genetic elements, Transmission distortionVerspoor Rudi, LSJ, M. L.; Mannion Natasha, L. M.; Hurst Gregory, D. D.; Price Tom, A. R., Evolution Letters, 2:169-179. 2018.
Meiotically driving sex chromosomes manipulate gametogenesis to increase their transmission at a cost to the rest of the genome. The intragenomic conflicts they produce have major impacts on the ecology and evolution of their host species. However, their ecological dynamics ...
Ecological and evolutionary applications for environmental sex reversal of fish
Tags: Biological control, Fish, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppression, Sex distorterA. McNair, P. M. Lokman, G. P. Closs and S. Nakagawa, Quarterly Review of Biology, 90:23-44. 2015.
Environmental sex reversal (ESR), which results in a mismatch between genotypic and phenotypic sex, is well documented in numerous fish species and may be induced by chemical exposure. Historically, research involving piscine ESR has been carried out with a view to improving ...
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 ...
Sterility introduced by release of genetically altered males to a domestic population of Aedes aegypti at the Kenya coast
Tags: Aedes, Africa, Genetic biocontrol, Genomics, Population suppression, Sterile insect technique (SIT)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 ...
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