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Godwin J, Serr M, Barnhill-Dilling SK, Blondel DV, Brown PR, Campbell K, Delborne J, Lloyd AL, Oh KP, Prowse TAA, Saah R, Thomas P. Rodent gene drives for conservation: opportunities and data needs. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191606. [PMID: 31690240 PMCID: PMC6842857 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Invasive rodents impact biodiversity, human health and food security worldwide. The biodiversity impacts are particularly significant on islands, which are the primary sites of vertebrate extinctions and where we are reaching the limits of current control technologies. Gene drives may represent an effective approach to this challenge, but knowledge gaps remain in a number of areas. This paper is focused on what is currently known about natural and developing synthetic gene drive systems in mice, some key areas where key knowledge gaps exist, findings in a variety of disciplines relevant to those gaps and a brief consideration of how engagement at the regulatory, stakeholder and community levels can accompany and contribute to this effort. Our primary species focus is the house mouse, Mus musculus, as a genetic model system that is also an important invasive pest. Our primary application focus is the development of gene drive systems intended to reduce reproduction and potentially eliminate invasive rodents from islands. Gene drive technologies in rodents have the potential to produce significant benefits for biodiversity conservation, human health and food security. A broad-based, multidisciplinary approach is necessary to assess this potential in a transparent, effective and responsible manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Godwin
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Megan Serr
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | | | - Dimitri V. Blondel
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Peter R. Brown
- Health and Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Karl Campbell
- Island Conservation, Charles Darwin Avenue, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jason Delborne
- Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Alun L. Lloyd
- Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
| | - Kevin P. Oh
- National Wildlife Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA
| | - Thomas A. A. Prowse
- School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Royden Saah
- Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
- Island Conservation, Charles Darwin Avenue, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
| | - Paul Thomas
- School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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Lindholm AK, Musolf K, Weidt A, König B. Mate choice for genetic compatibility in the house mouse. Ecol Evol 2013; 3:1231-47. [PMID: 23762510 PMCID: PMC3678478 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2012] [Revised: 02/14/2013] [Accepted: 02/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In house mice, genetic compatibility is influenced by the t haplotype, a driving selfish genetic element with a recessive lethal allele, imposing fundamental costs on mate choice decisions. Here, we evaluate the cost of genetic incompatibility and its implication for mate choice in a wild house mice population. In laboratory reared mice, we detected no fertility (number of embryos) or fecundity (ability to conceive) costs of the t, and yet we found a high cost of genetic incompatibility: heterozygote crosses produced 40% smaller birth litter sizes because of prenatal mortality. Surprisingly, transmission of t in crosses using +/t males was influenced by female genotype, consistent with postcopulatory female choice for + sperm in +/t females. Analysis of paternity patterns in a wild population of house mice showed that +/t females were more likely than +/+ females to have offspring sired by +/+ males, and unlike +/+ females, paternity of their offspring was not influenced by +/t male frequency, further supporting mate choice for genetic compatibility. As the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is physically linked to the t, we investigated whether females could potentially use variation at the MHC to identify male genotype at the sperm or individual level. A unique MHC haplotype is linked to the t haplotype. This MHC haplotype could allow the recognition of t and enable pre- and postcopulatory mate choice for genetic compatibility. Alternatively, the MHC itself could be the target of mate choice for genetic compatibility. We predict that mate choice for genetic compatibility will be difficult to find in many systems, as only weak fertilization biases were found despite an exceptionally high cost of genetic incompatibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna K Lindholm
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology und Environmental Studies, University of Zurich Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland
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Santos PSC, Höhne J, Schlattmann P, König IR, Ziegler A, Uchanska-Ziegler B, Ziegler A. Assessment of transmission distortion on chromosome 6p in healthy individuals using tagSNPs. Eur J Hum Genet 2009; 17:1182-9. [PMID: 19259136 DOI: 10.1038/ejhg.2009.16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The best-documented example for transmission distortion (TD) to normal offspring are the t haplotypes on mouse chromosome 17. In healthy humans, TD has been described for whole chromosomes and for particular loci, but multiple comparisons have presented a statistical obstacle in wide-ranging analyses. Here we provide six high-resolution TD maps of the short arm of human chromosome 6 (Hsa6p), based on single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 60 trio families belonging to two ethnicities that are available through the International HapMap Project. We tested all approximately 70,000 previously genotyped SNPs within Hsa6p by the transmission disequilibrium test. TagSNP selection followed by permutation testing was performed to adjust for multiple testing. A statistically significant evidence for TD was observed among male parents of European ancestry, due to strong and wide-ranging skewed segregation in a 730 kb long region containing the transcription factor-encoding genes SUPT3H and RUNX2, as well as the microRNA locus MIRN586. We also observed that this chromosomal segment coincides with pronounced linkage disequilibrium (LD), suggesting a relationship between TD and LD. The fact that TD may be taking place in samples not selected for a genetic disease implies that linkage studies must be assessed with particular caution in chromosomal segments with evidence of TD.
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