This project will assess three innovative gene drive strategies based on selective advantage of sperm that carry a population modification trait.
These meiotic or non-homing gene drives leverage recent advances in CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and offer a much more feasible alternative to the current focus on homing gene drives but have not yet been developed in vertebrates.
Importantly, the genetic components for each strategy have already been validated in cultured cells. Meiotic gene drives work by biasing the inheritance of a deleterious trait which is spread through natural sexual reproduction leading to species specific suppression or eradication of target mammal populations.
Meiotic gene drives are both a lower risk and faster genetic biocontrol approach for mammal pests.
In progress
This project will aim to identify at least one genetic biocontrol strategy for population suppression of invasive mice and develop an on-line analytical tool that validates vertebrate pests as viable targets for genetic biocontrol, with mouse plagues in Australian agricultural settings as the first target to be evaluated.
Professor Paul Thomas leads the Genome Editing Program and South Australian Genome Editing (SAGE) Facility at the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
He is using CRISPR/CAS9 genome editing technology for a range of applications including development of synthetic gene drives for suppression of invasive mammalian pests, generation and analysis of mouse models for epilepsy and development of genetic therapies for inherited muscle and eye diseases. He has published more than 100 scientific articles (>9,000 citations) and is supported by competitive funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.
This project receives funding the NSW Department of Primary Industries Mouse Control Package
Scientific Publications: