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PARASITES MIMIC PROTEINS. "Gordian worms: revealing the presence of parasite proteins that mimicked host proteins belonging to the Wnt family, parasite proteins involved in neurotransmitter release and a host protein involved in geotactic behaviour." https://lnkd.in/e4DPgex View in LinkedIn

GENE TARGETS FOR PARASITES. "The fact that many pathways underlying particular behavioural traits are highly conserved renders these pathways suitable targets for manipulation by parasites." https://lnkd.in/e4DPgex View in LinkedIn

SUCCESS STRATEGY #1: "endonuclease genes that copy themselves into chromosomes lacking them." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn

BEHAVIOR GENES. "In recent years, several genes have been found to play a role in the modulation of specific behaviours, and many pathways of behavioural adaptation appear to be conserved across species and, in some cases, even across phyla. This high degree of conservation has led to the implementation of the candidate gene approach in the field of behavioural genetics." https://lnkd.in/e4DPgex View in LinkedIn

SUCCESS STRATEGIES. "In nature, certain genes ‘drive’ themselves through populations by increasing the odds that they will be inherited." Five examples of these success strategies follow. https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn

COOL DEFENSE. "Cooler temperatures enhance survival after infection and alter expression of immune-related genes in flies. This effect appears to be due not only to the fact that colder temperatures slow down bacterial growth, but also to the beneficial effects of cooler temperature on immune function. We explore the possibility that heat shock proteins, and in particular, Hsp83, may improve immune function at cool temperatures." https://lnkd.in/e3X3wii View in LinkedIn

MASSIVE EXPANSIONS. "Although the host can often control their numbers, massive expansions of retrotransposons have been tolerated during evolution." http://science.sciencemag.org/content/303/5664/1626 View in LinkedIn

HEATING DEFENSE. "Caterpillars of Platyprepia virginalis that had previously been infected by the tachinid parasitoid, Thelaira americana, were more likely to bask on dead vegetation than were unparasitized caterpillars. This behavior was associated with elevated body temperatures compared to individuals that were not basking." https://lnkd.in/ers5cYr View in LinkedIn

INCREASED LIKELIHOOD. "Although several types of selfish genetic elements exist in nature, few have been successfully engineered in the laboratory thus far. With the discovery of RNA-guided CRISPR–Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats–CRISPR-associated 9) nucleases, which can be utilized to create, streamline and improve synthetic gene drives, this is rapidly changing." https://lnkd.in/eB6cXrs View in LinkedIn

ENGINEERED TRAITS. "Scientists have long known of naturally occurring selfish genetic elements that can increase the odds that they will be inherited. This advantage allows them to spread through populations even if they reduce the fitness of individual organisms. Many researchers have suggested that these elements might serve as the basis for ‘gene drives’ capable of spreading engineered traits through wild populations." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn