Willy Kibet

About Willy Kibet

Posts by Willy Kibet:

Bioinformatic and literature assessment of toxicity and allergenicity of a CRISPR-Cas9 engineered gene drive to control Anopheles gambiae the mosquito vector of human malaria

September 22, 2023

Background Population suppression gene drive is currently being evaluated, including via environmental risk assessment (ERA), for malaria vector control. One such gene drive involves the dsxFCRISPRh transgene encoding (i) hCas9 endonuclease, (ii) T1 guide RNA (gRNA) targeting the doublesex locus, and (iii) DsRed fluorescent marker protein, in genetically-modified mosquitoes (GMMs). Problem formulation, the first stage of ERA, for environmental […]

A natural gene drive system confers reproductive isolation in rice

September 22, 2023

Background DUYAO-JIEYAO encodes a toxin-antidote system that confers hybrid male sterility DUYAO interacts with OsCOX11 to trigger mitochondrial malfunction and cytotoxicity JIEYAO detoxifies DUYAO by rerouting DUYAO to the autophagosome for degradation DUYAO-JIEYAO forms a natural gene drive system that may promote speciation in rice Such a natural gene drive could be engineered to reduce […]

THE 1ST GLOBAL CONGRESS ON NEW EMERGING GENETIC BIOCONTROL TECHNOLOGIES

July 21, 2023

The Consortium is delighted to announce the 1st Global Congress on New and Emerging Genetic Biocontrol Technologies to take place in Nairobi in August 28 to August 31, 2023. The aim of the Congress is to bring together experts from around the world to share learnings across diverse disciplines related to genetic biocontrol technologies […]

A confinable female-lethal population suppression system in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae

July 20, 2023

Background Malaria is among the world’s deadliest diseases, predominantly affecting Sub-Saharan Africa and killing over half a million people annually. Controlling the principal vector, the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, as well as other anophelines, is among the most effective methods to control disease spread. Here, we develop a genetic population suppression system termed Ifegenia (inherited female elimination […]

Dual effector population modification gene-drive strains of the African malaria mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii

July 20, 2023

Background Novel genetic strategies for the malaria eradication agenda exploit Cas9/gRNA (guide RNA)-based autonomous gene-drive systems carrying antiparasite effector genes, and these effectively reduce prevalence and numbers of the human parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in the African malaria mosquitoes, Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii. Results from laboratory assessments of population gene-drive dynamics, transgene genetic loads, and parasite suppression efficacy informed modeling […]