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Engineered reproductively isolated species drive reversible population replacement
Anna Buchman1, Isaiah Shriner1, Ting Yang1
1Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.
Nature Communications
|June 3, 2021
Summary
Researchers engineered synthetic species barriers using CRISPR technology to control gene flow and drive beneficial genes into wild populations. This novel method, SPECIES, offers a reversible and threshold-dependent approach for advanced eukaryotes.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Synthetic Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Engineered reproductive barriers can impede gene flow and facilitate gene drive in wild populations.
- Current methods for creating synthetic barriers are limited in advanced eukaryotes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for engineering synthetic postzygotic reproductive barriers in advanced eukaryotes.
- To demonstrate the utility of this method for controlling gene flow and enabling gene drive.
Main Methods:
- Engineered SPECIES (Synthetic Postzygotic barriers Exploiting CRISPR-based Incompatibilities for Engineering Species), a genetic incompatibility approach.
- Utilized CRISPR tools to create reproductive isolation in D. melanogaster.
Main Results:
- Successfully created multiple reproductively isolated SPECIES in D. melanogaster.
- Demonstrated threshold-dependent gene drive capabilities of the engineered barriers.
- SPECIES approach showed reproductive isolation and gene drive potential.
Conclusions:
- SPECIES provides a versatile platform for generating synthetic reproductive barriers.
- The approach is potentially portable to diverse species, including insect disease vectors.
- This technology could enable confinable gene drives for practical applications.
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