A CRISPR–Cas9 gene drive targeting doublesex causes complete population suppression in caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes

Scientists at the Imperial College London have developed a CRISPR/Cas-based gene drive in Anopheles gambiae that aims to modify a gene called doublesex. Doublesex plays an important role during embryonic development: it is crucial for whether mosquitoes develop as females or as males. The result of the change mediated by the gene drive is the development of non-fertile pseudo-females and normal males. After about 10 generations, the population collapsed in the laboratory and there was no development of resistance within the target sequence of the gene.

Kyrou, K., Hammond, A. M., Galizi, R., Kranjc, N., Burt, A., Beaghton, A. K., Crisanti, A. (2018). A CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive targeting doublesex causes complete population suppression in caged Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Nat Biotechnol. doi: 10.1038/nbt.4245