Transforming insect population control with precision guided sterile males with demonstration in flies

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally safe and proven technology to suppress wild populations. To further advance its utility, a novel CRISPR-based technology termed precision guided SIT (pgSIT) is described. PgSIT mechanistically relies on a dominant genetic technology that enabl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Nature communications Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 84 - 12
Main Authors:	Kandul, Nikolay P., Liu, Junru, Sanchez C., Hector M., Wu, Sean L., Marshall, John M., Akbari, Omar S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 08.01.2019 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	38/23 38/44 38/70 45/23 45/29 45/41 45/77 631/208/4041/3196 631/61/338/552 64/24 Animals Biotechnology CRISPR CRISPR-Cas Systems - genetics Disease control Drosophila - genetics Drosophila - physiology Efficiency Eggs Female Females Fertility Fruit flies Gene Editing - methods Genome, Insect - genetics Genomes Humanities and Social Sciences Infertility Insect control Insect Vectors - genetics Insect Vectors - physiology Insects Life Sciences Male Male sterility Males Mathematical analysis Mathematical models Models, Biological multidisciplinary Pest control Pest Control, Biological - methods Pests Population Population control Population Control - methods RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems - genetics Science Science (multidisciplinary) Sexing Sexual Behavior, Animal Stability Sterilization Sterilized organisms Vectors Vectors (mathematics) X chromosomes
ISSN:	2041-1723, 2041-1723
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Summary:	The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally safe and proven technology to suppress wild populations. To further advance its utility, a novel CRISPR-based technology termed precision guided SIT (pgSIT) is described. PgSIT mechanistically relies on a dominant genetic technology that enables simultaneous sexing and sterilization, facilitating the release of eggs into the environment ensuring only sterile adult males emerge. Importantly, for field applications, the release of eggs will eliminate burdens of manually sexing and sterilizing males, thereby reducing overall effort and increasing scalability. Here, to demonstrate efficacy, we systematically engineer multiple pgSIT systems in Drosophila which consistently give rise to 100% sterile males. Importantly, we demonstrate that pgSIT-generated sterile males are fit and competitive. Using mathematical models, we predict pgSIT will induce substantially greater population suppression than can be achieved by currently-available self-limiting suppression technologies. Taken together, pgSIT offers to potentially transform our ability to control insect agricultural pests and disease vectors. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is used to suppress wild populations. Here the authors integrate CRISPR-based technology and SIT to develop a precision guided SIT (pgSIT), and demonstrate its proof-of-principle by generating 100% sterile males.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Undefined-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 PMCID: PMC6325135
ISSN:	2041-1723 2041-1723
DOI:	10.1038/s41467-018-07964-7