1st I have heard of Gene-Drive. OMG!
We have developed a method called the mutagenic chain reaction (MCR), which is based on the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system for generating autocatalytic mutations, to produce homozygous loss-of-function mutations...
The researchers therefore used the most stringent security measures to prevent the escape of genetically engineered flies in the environment. However, the method itself they made fully public: The publication in the prestigious Science magazine contains all instructions and protocols that allow easy reproduction.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6233/442.short
A report recently published in Science describes a system by which one can introduce mutations into insect genomes and have those mutations quickly spread to all of the mutant’s progeny, and to all of their progeny’s progeny, and so on.
David O’Brochta
The new system does not follow the standard rules of chromosome and gene transmission. An insect carrying one copy of a mutation is normally expected to transmit that mutation to only one half of its progeny. But that’s not the case with the mutations created by Valentino Gantz and Ethan Bier, the authors of the report. An insect carrying one of their mutations will transmit the mutation to ALL of its progeny.
Gantz and Bier inserted two genes into the “yellow gene” of a fruit fly (Drosophila), creating mutants with a yellow cuticle. One of the genes Gantz and Bier inserted encodes for a protein that can cut DNA (an endonuclease), and the second gene tells the endonuclease specifically where to cut. In this case they told the endonuclease to cut the normal copy of the yellow gene.
Fruit flies are diploids, meaning they have two chromosomes. Gantz and Bier essentially inserted the mutation-causing yellow gene into one chromosome, and simply cut the other chromosome in the exact same place. Normally, when a chromosome is cut in this fashion, the cell will attempt to repair the broken chromosome by copying the corresponding section of the unbroken chromosome. However, in this case the “unbroken” chromosome is the one that contains the newly-inserted yellow gene. The cell is fooled into “repairing” its cut chromosome by copying the genetically-altered chromosome. Now it has two identical chromosomes for the new yellow gene, and the yellow-cuticle trait has become homozygous instead of heterozygous.
Whenever a normal copy of the yellow gene finds itself in the presence of the mutated form of the gene, it will become similarly mutated. The authors call this a “mutational chain reaction.” It is also formally known as a homing endonuclease, and they are known to exist in nature.
Homing endonucleases can quickly spread through populations under certain conditions, which could have incredible implications for controlling or even eradicating insect pests. By targeting the appropriate gene, one could set in motion a “mutational chain reaction” that could result in the population’s demise. One could cause a population to self-destruct.
This technology could be applied to any insect species that is amenable to genetic modification, and that includes an ever-growing number of species. Mutation-spreading technologies like this are certain to raise some concerns, and conversations about those concerns are ongoing.
http://entomologytoday.org/2015/03/24/mutational-chain-reaction-can-spread-throughout-insect-populations/
In insects the results can be seen right away...Because the short, even by days, life cycles...In humans it might take months for a disease to develop, or for generations show up...
I wonder what the powers that be will call our new diseases...and how the whole drama will be marketed...hmmm
New vaccines for sure...
I wonder if this is loose in Hawaii already.
My mind cannot even wrap around this idea...I was just about to decide to go through my day without thinking about this...
Hurts to know. and to even comprehend the crazy stupidness of these people...
They are doing their job...They do this in order to recieve MONEY!!!!!!!!!
BS
We have developed a method called the mutagenic chain reaction (MCR), which is based on the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system for generating autocatalytic mutations, to produce homozygous loss-of-function mutations...
The researchers therefore used the most stringent security measures to prevent the escape of genetically engineered flies in the environment. However, the method itself they made fully public: The publication in the prestigious Science magazine contains all instructions and protocols that allow easy reproduction.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/348/6233/442.short
David O’Brochta
The new system does not follow the standard rules of chromosome and gene transmission. An insect carrying one copy of a mutation is normally expected to transmit that mutation to only one half of its progeny. But that’s not the case with the mutations created by Valentino Gantz and Ethan Bier, the authors of the report. An insect carrying one of their mutations will transmit the mutation to ALL of its progeny.
Gantz and Bier inserted two genes into the “yellow gene” of a fruit fly (Drosophila), creating mutants with a yellow cuticle. One of the genes Gantz and Bier inserted encodes for a protein that can cut DNA (an endonuclease), and the second gene tells the endonuclease specifically where to cut. In this case they told the endonuclease to cut the normal copy of the yellow gene.
Fruit flies are diploids, meaning they have two chromosomes. Gantz and Bier essentially inserted the mutation-causing yellow gene into one chromosome, and simply cut the other chromosome in the exact same place. Normally, when a chromosome is cut in this fashion, the cell will attempt to repair the broken chromosome by copying the corresponding section of the unbroken chromosome. However, in this case the “unbroken” chromosome is the one that contains the newly-inserted yellow gene. The cell is fooled into “repairing” its cut chromosome by copying the genetically-altered chromosome. Now it has two identical chromosomes for the new yellow gene, and the yellow-cuticle trait has become homozygous instead of heterozygous.
Whenever a normal copy of the yellow gene finds itself in the presence of the mutated form of the gene, it will become similarly mutated. The authors call this a “mutational chain reaction.” It is also formally known as a homing endonuclease, and they are known to exist in nature.
Homing endonucleases can quickly spread through populations under certain conditions, which could have incredible implications for controlling or even eradicating insect pests. By targeting the appropriate gene, one could set in motion a “mutational chain reaction” that could result in the population’s demise. One could cause a population to self-destruct.
This technology could be applied to any insect species that is amenable to genetic modification, and that includes an ever-growing number of species. Mutation-spreading technologies like this are certain to raise some concerns, and conversations about those concerns are ongoing.
http://entomologytoday.org/2015/03/24/mutational-chain-reaction-can-spread-throughout-insect-populations/
In insects the results can be seen right away...Because the short, even by days, life cycles...In humans it might take months for a disease to develop, or for generations show up...
I wonder what the powers that be will call our new diseases...and how the whole drama will be marketed...hmmm
New vaccines for sure...
I wonder if this is loose in Hawaii already.
My mind cannot even wrap around this idea...I was just about to decide to go through my day without thinking about this...
Hurts to know. and to even comprehend the crazy stupidness of these people...
They are doing their job...They do this in order to recieve MONEY!!!!!!!!!
BS
Conclusion
The ability to alter populations and ecosystems using gene drives is around the corner—but not yet here today. As scientists and bioethicists, we have a professional obligation to inform society of the potential consequences of our work as early as possible. We judged the eventual development of RNA-guided gene drives to be inevitable due to the landmark theoretical work by Austin Burt, who first described the possible uses of endonuclease gene drives more than a decade ago, and the rapid advancement of CRISPR-based genome editing. After extensive discussions with experts in many fields, we elected to publish our findings in order to provide time for informed public discussion, regulatory review, and the establishment of guidelines for the safe development of the technology.
Because we are all affected by the state of our ecosystems, public oversight of technologies capable of ecological management will be essential. We recommend that all future research involving gene drives and other technologies capable of altering populations and ecosystems be conducted in full public view, with all empirical data and predictive models freely and openly shared with the global community in a transparent and understandable format. Only through broadly inclusive and well-informed public discussions can we as a society decide how best to manage our shared environment. We hope that many of you will join.
George Church is a member of Scientific American's Board of Advisors
Call it End On Nuclease...THE END!How Endonuclease Gene Drives Work
Endon Mosquito
Endon Mosquito
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