Stakeholder Views on Engagement, Trust, Performance, and Risk Considerations About Use of Gene Drive Technology in Agricultural Pest Management

General science-technology orientation, specific benefit-risk assessment frame, and public acceptance of gene drive biotechnology

With limited understanding of most new biotechnologies, how do citizens form their opinion and what factors influence their attitudes about these innovations? In this study, we use gene drive biotechnology in agricultural pest management as an example and theoretically propose that given low levels of knowledge and awareness, citizens' acceptance of, or opposition to, gene drive is significantly shaped by two predisposition factors: individuals' general orientation toward science and technology, and their specific benefit-risk assessment frame. Empirically, we employ data collected from a recent US nationally representative public opinion survey (N = 1220) and conduct statistical analyses to test the hypotheses derived from our theoretical expectations. Our statistical analyses, based on various model specifications and controlling for individual-level covariates and state-fixed effects, show that citizens with a more favorable general orientation toward science and technology are more likely to accept gene drive. Our data analyses also demonstrate that citizens' specific gene drive assessment frame-consisting of a potential benefit dimension and a potential risk dimension, significantly shapes their attitudes as well-specifically, people emphasizing more on the benefit dimension are more likely to accept gene drive, whereas those who place more importance on the risk dimension tend to oppose it. We discuss contributions of our study and make suggestions for future research in the conclusion.

Engineering a self-eliminating transgene in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Promising genetics-based approaches are being developed to reduce or prevent the transmission of mosquito-vectored diseases. Less clear is how such transgenes can be removed from the environment, a concern that is particularly relevant for highly invasive gene drive transgenes. Here, we lay the groundwork for a transgene removal system based on single-strand annealing (SSA), a eukaryotic DNA repair mechanism. An SSA-based rescuer strain (kmo^RG ) was engineered to have direct repeat sequences (DRs) in the Aedes aegypti kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (kmo) gene flanking the intervening transgenic cargo genes, DsRED and EGFP. Targeted induction of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the DsRED transgene successfully triggered complete elimination of the entire cargo from the kmo^RG strain, restoring the wild-type kmo gene, and thereby, normal eye pigmentation. Our work establishes the framework for strategies to remove transgene sequences during the evaluation and testing of modified strains for genetics-based mosquito control.