The Potential for a Released Autosomal X-Shredder Becoming a Driving-Y Chromosome and Invasively Suppressing Wild Populations of Malaria Mosquitoes

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Douglas B. Rusch¹  Rachel Rotenberry²  Roberto Galizi³  Matthew W. Hahn⁵  Yehonatan Alcalay⁶  Philippos Aris Papathanos⁶  Federica Bernardini⁷  Roya Elaine Haghighat-Khah⁷  Silke Fuchs⁷  Jeffrey R. Adrion⁸  Pablo Tortosa⁹ 

[1] Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States;Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Keele, United Kingdom;Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States;Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States;Department of Entomology, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel;Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom;Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;Unité Mixte de Recherche Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical (UMR PIMIT), Université de La Réunion, INSERM 1187, CNRS 9192, IRD 249, Plateforme de Recherche CYROI, Saint Denis, France;

关键词: gene drive;    malaria;    sex-ratio distortion;    genetic control;    risk assessment;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fbioe.2021.752253

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Sex-ratio distorters based on X-chromosome shredding are more efficient than sterile male releases for population suppression. X-shredding is a form of sex distortion that skews spermatogenesis of XY males towards the preferential transmission of Y-bearing gametes, resulting in a higher fraction of sons than daughters. Strains harboring X-shredders on autosomes were first developed in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae, resulting in strong sex-ratio distortion. Since autosomal X-shredders are transmitted in a Mendelian fashion and can be selected against, their frequency in the population declines once releases are halted. However, unintended transfer of X-shredders to the Y-chromosome could produce an invasive meiotic drive element, that benefits from its biased transmission to the predominant male-biased offspring and its effective shielding from female negative selection. Indeed, linkage to the Y-chromosome of an active X-shredder instigated the development of the nuclease-based X-shredding system. Here, we analyze mechanisms whereby an autosomal X-shredder could become unintentionally Y-linked after release by evaluating the stability of an established X-shredder strain that is being considered for release, exploring its potential for remobilization in laboratory and wild-type genomes of An. gambiae and provide data regarding expression on the mosquito Y-chromosome. Our data suggest that an invasive X-shredder resulting from a post-release movement of such autosomal transgenes onto the Y-chromosome is unlikely.

【 授权许可】

Unknown