Technologies

Prof. Omar Akbari and his lab at UCR have developed a gene drive system using a synthetic maternal effect dominant embryonic arrest element (Medea) to controlD. suzukii. The engineered Medea element is a maternal toxin coupled to a tightly linked embryonic “antidote”. FemaleD. suzukiitransformed with the Medea element and antidote deposit a toxin into all oocytes. Should the embryo inherit a Medea element, it may inhibit the toxin’s lethality by expressing miRNAs as an antidote that targets the toxin. Embryos without a Medea element are not able to counter the effects of the toxin and do not survive past the embryonic stage.
The lab has also tested the transgenicD. suzukiiMedea in eight geographically distinct populations and showed that the overall transmission rate of the Medea element in each population was 94.2%. This suggests thatD. suzukiiMedea should be able to drive robust population replacement and cause a population crash by spreading Medea through a population and making it infertile.