Risks
[ 1.1 ] As described by Leitschuh et al.: “The presence of an invasive species, especially species that are food sources for predators, can attract other species in search of food, as seen on the Channel Islands and the Farallon Islands (refs). If the invasive food source is removed too quickly, the predator may turn to consuming endemic species rather than leave the island (refs).”
Leitschuh, CM, Kanavy D, Backus, GA, … Godwin, J. (2017). Developing gene drive technologies to eradicate invasive rodents from islands. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5(sup1), S121–S138. https://doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2017.1365232
[ 1.2 ] Pang L, Fang G, Liu Z, et al. (2024). Coordinated molecular and ecological adaptations underlie a highly successful parasitoid. Elife 13:RP94748. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.94748
[ 1.3 ]
[ 1.4 ] see pages 101-102 in: CSS-ENSSER-VDW. (2019). Gene drives: A report on their science, applications, social aspects, ethics and regulation. By Critical Scientists Switzerland, European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility, and Vereinigung Deutscher Wissenschaftler (Federation of German Scientists). Available at https://genedrives.ch/report
[ 1.5 ] Champer SE, Oakes N, Sharma R, García-Díaz P, Champer J, Messer PW. (2021). Modeling CRISPR gene drives for suppression of invasive rodents using a supervised machine learning framework. PLoS Comput Biol. 17(12):e1009660. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009660
Champer J, Kim I, Champer SE, Clark AG, Messer PW. Suppression gene drive in continuous space can result in unstable persistence of both drive and wild-type alleles. Molecular Ecology. 2021; 30: 1086–1101. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15788
Will it work?
[ 2.1 ] Examples of gene drive designs that aim to render females infertile include homing gene drives targeting the doublesex gene in Anopheles gambiae, and the so called T-CRISPR gene drive proposed in Mus musculus.
[ 2.2 ] For example Yao et al (2022) describe fitness costs in non gene drive transgenic mosquitoes.
[ 2.3 ] For example Hammond et al (2017) describe the emergence of resistance to a homing gene drive in Anopheles gambiae due to 'nuclease-induced mutations at the target gene that are resistant to further cleavage'.
[ 2.4 ] See for example North et al (2019) who uses models to predict the effects of dispersal rates on the spread of a 'Y-drive' in Anopheles gambiae.
[ 2.5 ] Rose et al (2020) consider the evolutionary forces driving this preference.
[ 2.6 ] See the section "In which groups of species are homing CRISPR gene drives effective? And in which groups might other forms of gene drive be effective?" on our Key Findings page.
Key Findings
[ 3.1 ] All findings reported here are based on ongoing surveys of the scientific literature, and other relevant sources, for example institutional websites or press releases, as compiled in this database and previously published surveys. Gene drive targets in the database are listed taxonomically here.
[ 3.2 ] Gene drives have been demonstrated in the mosquito species Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles coluzzi, Anopheles arabiensis, Aedes aegypti, and Culex quinquefasciatus. The database entries linked to Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti are prominent examples of gene drive development projects in these two species - other projects in both these targets are described in the literature. More information on gene drive development projects in all mosquito targets can be found in the database.
[ 3.3 ] The links included for Drosophila suzukii, Ceratitis capitata, and Plutella xylostella are examples of projects in these species, other gene drive development projects have been described for each of these species (see database for more information). For a full list taxonomic list of all gene drive targets in the database, including insects, see here.
[ 3.4 ] The rat species Rattus rattus (common or black rat), Rattus norvegicus (brown rat), and Rattus exults (Polynesian rat) have been proposed as targets , alongside Mus musculus (house mouse) and Peromyscus leucopus (white footed mouse). More information on all these projects and proposals can be found in the database.
[ 3.5 ] Several gene drive systems have been described in the fungi Saccharomyces cerevisiae (see database for more information). A system has also been described in Candida alibcans.
[ 3.6 ] The 42 insect gene drive targets in the database are listed taxonomically here. 19 targets from this list impact on crops: four of the five targets in the Coleoptera order (the Scolytinae subfamily is the exception) Drosophila suzukii, the four species of the Tephritidae family, the three species of the Lepidoptera order, five of the six species of the Hemiptera order (Rhodinus prolixus is the exception), Solenopsis invicta, and the Thysanoptera order. A further five targets impact on livestock: the three species in the Calliphoridae family, Wohlfahrtia magnifica, and the glossina genus.
[ 3.7 ] The links to database entries are prominent examples of gene drive development projects in these species. Other projects in each species have also been described in the literature - more information can be found in the database.
[ 3.8 ] The 42 insect gene drive targets in the database are listed taxonomically here. The 15 insect targets from this list that are vectors of human disease are the 13 mosquito species, plus the Glossina genus, the Lutzomyia longipalpis species complex and Rhodnius prolixus.
[ 3.9 ] These targets are the five species of the Hymenoptera order in the taxonomic list of targets here, plus the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, which can act as a vector for avian malaria.
[ 3.10 ] Of the 20 vertebrate targets listed here, the Cervidae family is the only one not being targeted for conservation and biodiversity purposes.
[ 3.11 ] Our assessment is that the most advanced gene drive project is a homing gene drive system targeting the double sex gene in Anopheles gambiae, described here. Sex ratio distorter systems in this species have also reached an advanced stage, described here.
[ 3.12 ] Examples of split homing CRISPR gene drives include systems developed in Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Drosophila suzukii.
[ 3.13 ] X-shredder based sex ratio distorter systems have been demonstrated in Anopheles gambiae (based on CRISPR-Cas9, and on another endonculease, I-Ppo-I), Anopheles coluzzii, Anopheles arabiensis and Ceratitis capitata.