Journal Article

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

Sanchez C., Hector, Bouyer, Jérémy, Akbari, Omar, S, Liu, Junru, University of California [San Diego] (UC San Diego) ; University of California (UC), Kandul, Nikolay, Animal, Santé, Territoires, Risques et Ecosystèmes (UMR ASTRE) ; Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Wu, Sean, Marshall, John

2019

Overview

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.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group,CCSD,Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 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