Imperial College London
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ProfessorAustinBurt

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park)

Professor of Evolutionary Genetics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 2266a.burt

 
 
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Location

 

Silwood ParkSilwood Park

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Godfray:2017:10.1186/s12915-017-0420-4,
author = {Godfray, HCJ and North, A and Burt, A},
doi = {10.1186/s12915-017-0420-4},
journal = {BMC Biology},
title = {How driving endonuclease genes can be used to combat pests and disease vectors},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0420-4},
volume = {15},
year = {2017}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Driving endonuclease genes (DEGs) spread through a population by a non-Mendelian mechanism. In a heterozygote,the protein encoded by a DEG causes a double-strand break in the homologous chromosome opposite to where itsgene is inserted and when the break is repaired using the homologue as a template the DEG heterozygote is convertedto a homozygote. Some DEGs occur naturally while several classes of endonucleases can be engineered to spread in thisway, with CRISPR-Cas9 based systems being particularly flexible. There is great interest in using driving endonucleasegenes to impose a genetic load on insects that vector diseases or are economic pests to reduce their population density,or to introduce a beneficial gene such as one that might interrupt disease transmission. This paper reviews both thepopulation genetics and population dynamics of DEGs. It summarises the theory that guides the design of DEG constructsintended to perform different functions. It also reviews the studies that have explored the likelihood of resistance to DEGphenotypes arising, and how this risk may be reduced. The review is intended for a general audience and mathematicaldetails are kept to a minimum.
AU  - Godfray,HCJ
AU  - North,A
AU  - Burt,A
DO  - 10.1186/s12915-017-0420-4
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 1741-7007
TI  - How driving endonuclease genes can be used to combat pests and disease vectors
T2  - BMC Biology
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0420-4
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/51254
VL  - 15
ER  -
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