Gene drives in plants: opportunities and challenges for weed control and engineered resilience.

ABSTRACT: Plant species, populations and communities are under threat from climate change, invasive pathogens, weeds and habitat fragmentation. Despite considerable research effort invested in genome engineering for crop improvement, the development of genetic tools for the management of wild plant populations has rarely been given detailed consideration. Gene drive systems that allow direct genetic management of plant populations via the spread of fitness-altering genetic modifications could be of great utility. However, despite the rapid development of synthetic tools and their enormous promise, little explicit consideration has been given to their application in plants and, to date, they remain untested. This article considers the potential utility of gene drives for the management of wild plant

SUBMITTER: Barrett LG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6784734 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature