Medea selfish genetic elements as tools for altering traits of wild populations: a theoretical analysis.

ABSTRACT: One strategy for controlling transmission of insect-borne disease involves replacing the native insect population with transgenic animals unable to transmit disease. Population replacement requires a drive mechanism to ensure the rapid spread of linked transgenes, the presence of which may result in a fitness cost to carriers. Medea selfish genetic elements have the feature that when present in a female, only offspring that inherit the element survive, a behavior that can lead to spread. Here, we derive equations that describe the conditions under which Medea elements with a fitness cost will spread, and the equilibrium allele frequencies are achieved. Of particular importance, we show that whenever Medea spreads, the non-Medea genotype is driven out of the population, and we estimate the

SUBMITTER: Ward CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3601553 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature