Publications

Engineered and natural gene drives: mechanistically the same, yet not same in kind

September 29, 2023

Background Thanks to CRISPR-Cas-based gene editing, engineered gene drive has suddenly become feasible as a potential cost-effective pest control tool that could help us resolve wicked challenges. In nature, several organisms harbor genes that “selfishly” drive themselves into populations. This natural gene drive uses similar mechanisms to the ones use today to drive engineered genes […]

Quantifying the impact of Wolbachia releases on dengue infection in Townsville, Australia

September 26, 2023

Background From October 2014 to February 2019, local authorities in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia continually introduced Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to control seasonal outbreaks of dengue infection. In this study, we develop a mathematical modelling framework to estimate the effectiveness of this intervention as well as the relative dengue transmission rates of Wolbachia-infected and wild-type mosquitoes. We find that […]

Comparison of Ground Release and Drone-Mediated Aerial Release of Aedes aegypti Sterile Males in Southern Mexico: Efficacy and Challenges

September 22, 2023

Background Diseases transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika, affect millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a safe and environmentally benign method of population suppression that could be applied to reduce mosquito-transmitted disease. SIT involves the release of large numbers […]

Malaria Vaccines: Progress to Date

September 22, 2023

Background Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Despite significant declines in malaria-attributable morbidity and mortality over the last two decades, it remains a major public health burden in many countries. This underscores the critical need for improved strategies to prevent, treat and control malaria if we are to ultimately […]

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 […]