Medusa: a novel gene drive system for confined suppression of insect populations.

ABSTRACT: Gene drive systems provide novel opportunities for insect population suppression by driving genes that confer a fitness cost into pest or disease vector populations; however regulatory issues arise when genes are capable of spreading across international borders. Gene drive systems displaying threshold properties provide a solution since they can be confined to local populations and eliminated through dilution with wild-types. We propose a novel, threshold-dependent gene drive system, Medusa, capable of inducing a local and reversible population crash. Medusa consists of four components--two on the X chromosome, and two on the Y chromosome. A maternally-expressed, X-linked toxin and a zygotically-expressed, Y-linked antidote results in suppression of the female population and selection for

SUBMITTER: Marshall JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4108329 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature