Gene Flooding: Proposal to Flood Invasive Populations With Inbred Individuals as a Form of Low-Tech Genetic Control.

ABSTRACT: Genetic controls are at the cutting edge of invasive species management whereby modified individuals are released into target populations to induce declines by disrupting their reproductive potential. Yet, such methods are not always feasible without considerable costs and expertise. We propose an alternative, low-tech genetic approach that reduces the genetic diversity of invasive wild populations by flooding them with related individuals from an inbred colony that have been derived from a single ancestral line. We refer to this process as 'gene flooding' and explore its potential use to control invasive mosquitofish, Gambusia spp. Using this hypothetical approach, the repeated release of inbred individuals across multiple generations inflicts sustained genetic bottlenecking on a t

SUBMITTER: Gould J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12815697 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature