The creation and selection of mutations resistant to a gene drive over multiple generations in the malaria mosquito.

ABSTRACT: Gene drives have enormous potential for the control of insect populations of medical and agricultural relevance. By preferentially biasing their own inheritance, gene drives can rapidly introduce genetic traits even if these confer a negative fitness effect on the population. We have recently developed gene drives based on CRISPR nuclease constructs that are designed to disrupt key genes essential for female fertility in the malaria mosquito. The construct copies itself and the associated genetic disruption from one homologous chromosome to another during gamete formation, a process called homing that ensures the majority of offspring inherit the drive. Such drives have the potential to cause long-lasting, sustainable population suppression, though they are also expected to impose a large

SUBMITTER: Hammond AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5648257 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature