Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: Self-replicating gene drives that can spread deleterious alleles through animal populations have been promoted as a much needed but controversial 'silver bullet' for controlling invasive alien species. Homing-based drives comprise an endonuclease and a guide RNA (gRNA) that are replicated during meiosis via homologous recombination. However, their efficacy for controlling wild populations is threatened by inherent polymorphic resistance and the creation of resistance alleles via non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ)-mediated DNA repair. We used stochastic individual-based models to identify realistic gene-drive strategies capable of eradicating vertebrate pest populations (mice, rats and rabbits) on islands. One popular strategy, a sex-reversing drive that converts heterozygous females into st

SUBMITTER: Prowse TAA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5563802 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature