Driving sex conversion for the genetic control of agricultural pests

推动性别转换以实现农业害虫的遗传控制

• 批准号: BB/W00304X/1
• 负责人: Nikolai Windbichler
• 金额: $ 74.36万
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FW00304X%2F1
• 关键词: Driving; sex; conversion; genetic; control

Many insect species feed on and damage crop plants. Some flies for example lay their eggs in ripening fruit which are then decomposed by feeding larvae. This reduces agricultural production and can cause both empty stomachs and economic losses for farmers. The world's climate is changing allowing insects to invade new regions and reproduce faster. A growing human population puts a rising strain on the worlds agricultural systems while at the same time insects are becoming increasingly resistant to pesticide chemicals. These challenges are forcing us to envision novel ways in which we can sustainably control insects.Genetic control of insects is a species-specific form of biological control where the release of modified insects reduces or eliminates the potential of wild insect populations to do harm. For example, the mass-release of sterilized males has been used to reduce the population size of many insect pests for many decades. One genetic control strategy is the use of genetic elements called gene drives. These elements, introduced by a few modified insects into a population, can propagate and affect the genetic makeup of the entire pest population, for example reducing the fertility of females. Another approach is affecting the population's sex ratio and shifting it towards males. Since the number of females is important for the size of an insect pest population and since crop damage occurs solely through the activities of females, such approaches that interfere with female fertility and female development are very promising.In this research project we are developing a novel control strategy that seeks to combine these two approaches for an even more powerful intervention. We will pioneer this technology in a well studied insect pest species Ceratitis capitata, the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) capable of damaging many fruit crops and a model insect for a whole range of related pest species. In the medfly true-sex conversion i.e. the transformation of females into fully fertile males is possible and, when effected by a gene drive that also reduces female fertility, is predicted to lead to the rapid elimination of pest populations. We will design and test the molecular building blocks for both gene drive and sex conversion in the medfly and combine them to demonstrate that caged populations of this pest species can be eliminated in the lab.

许多昆虫以农作物为食并损害农作物。例如，有些苍蝇在成熟的水果中产卵，然后通过喂养幼虫来分解。这减少了农业产量，可能导致农民的空腹和经济损失。世界气候正在发生变化，这使得昆虫能够入侵新的地区并更快地繁殖。不断增长的人口给世界农业系统带来了越来越大的压力，而与此同时，昆虫对农药化学品的耐药性也越来越强。这些挑战迫使我们设想可持续控制昆虫的新方法。昆虫的遗传控制是一种物种特异性生物控制形式，其中转基因昆虫的释放减少或消除了野生昆虫种群造成危害的可能性。例如，几十年来，大量释放不育的雄性已经用于减少许多昆虫害虫的种群规模。一种遗传控制策略是使用称为基因驱动的遗传元件。这些元素由少数经过改造的昆虫引入种群，可以繁殖并影响整个害虫种群的遗传组成，例如降低雌性的生育能力。另一种方法是影响人口的性别比例，使其向男性转移。由于雌虫的数量对害虫种群的大小很重要，而且作物损害完全是通过雌虫的活动发生的，因此干扰雌虫生育和发育的方法非常有前途。在本研究项目中，我们正在开发一种新的控制策略，旨在将这两种方法联合收割机结合起来，进行更有力的干预。我们将在一种经过充分研究的昆虫害虫Ceratitis capitata中开创这项技术，地中海果蝇（medfly）能够破坏许多水果作物，并且是一系列相关害虫物种的模式昆虫。在地中海果蝇中，真性别转换，即雌性转化为完全可育的雄性是可能的，并且当受到也降低雌性生育力的基因驱动的影响时，预计会导致害虫种群的快速消除。我们将设计和测试地中海果蝇基因驱动和性别转换的分子构建模块，并将它们联合收割机结合起来，以证明这种害虫物种的笼中种群可以在实验室中消除。

项目成果

Exploring the value of a global gene drive project registry.

探索全球基因驱动项目注册的价值。

• DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01591-w
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Nature biotechnology
• 影响因子: 46.9
• 作者: Taitingfong RI