Reflection on the Challenges, Accomplishments, and New Frontiers of Gene Drives

Background

Ongoing pest and disease outbreaks pose a serious threat to human, crop, and animal lives, emphasizing the need for constant genetic discoveries that could serve as mitigation strategies. Gene drives are genetic engineering approaches discovered decades ago that may allow quick, super-Mendelian dissemination of genetic modifications in wild populations, offering hopes for medicine, agriculture, and ecology in combating diseases. Following its first discovery, several naturally occurring selfish genetic elements were identified and several gene drive mechanisms that could attain relatively high threshold population replacement have been proposed.

Melesse Vergara, M., Labbé, J., & Tannous, J. (2022). Reflection on the Challenges, Accomplishments, and New Frontiers of Gene Drives. BioDesign Research2022.

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