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CONSERVED NON-CODING DNAs "They are under a stronger selective pressure than other functional genomic element." https://lnkd.in/eFvUyrd View in LinkedIn

NON-GENE SEQUENCES. "A team of seven geneticists have found something amazing in the genomes of humans and at least twelve other mammals..."conserved non-genic sequences" (CNGs) of unknown function that are better conserved than genes, and twice as abundant." (Non-genic = not genes). https://lnkd.in/eFvUyrd View in LinkedIn

POST-SCRIPT. "However, the possibility of unwanted ecological effects and near-certainty of spread across political borders demand careful assessment of each potential application. We call for thoughtful, inclusive, and well-informed public discussions to explore the responsible use of this currently theoretical technology." (Understatement). https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD 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

EDITING POPULATIONS. "The ability to edit populations of sexual species would offer substantial benefits to humanity and the environment. For example, RNA-guided gene drives could potentially prevent the spread of disease, support agriculture by reversing pesticide and herbicide resistance in insects and weeds, and control damaging invasive species." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn

ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING. "Gene drives may be capable of addressing ecological problems by altering entire populations of wild organisms, but their use has remained largely theoretical due to technical constraints. Here we consider the potential for RNA-guided gene drives based on the CRISPR nuclease Cas9 to serve as a general method for spreading altered traits through wild populations over many generations." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn

"SUPPRESSION DRIVES reduce the size of the targeted population. These ‘genetic load’ drives would spread rapidly through minimally impaired heterozygotes when rare, and eventually cause the population to crash or even become extinct due to the accumulated load of recessive mutations." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn

HOMING. "Because copying causes the fraction of offspring that inherit the cassette to be greater than 1/2, these genes can drive through a population even if they reduce the reproductive fitness of the individual organisms that carry them. Over many generations, this self-sustaining process can theoretically allow a gene drive to spread from a small number of individuals until it is present in all members of a population." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn

GENE DRIVE. "Natural homing endonuclease genes exhibit drive by cutting the corresponding locus of chromosomes lacking them. This induces the cell to repair the break by copying the nuclease gene onto the damaged chromosome via homologous recombination. The copying process is termed ‘homing’, while the endonuclease-containing cassette that is copied is referred to as a ‘gene drive’ or simply a ‘drive’." https://lnkd.in/ewXxsGD View in LinkedIn