New Gene Drive Technology Reverses Insecticide Resistance in Pests

Geneticists from the University of California San Diego developed gene drive technologies to combat insecticide resistance by replacing resistant genes in insects with genes that restore susceptibility to pesticides. The researchers say that this new genetic system has the potential to protect valuable crops and vastly reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

“We have developed an efficient biological approach to reverse insecticide resistance without creating any other perturbation to the environment,” said Prof. Ethan Bier, a professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, of the self-eliminating allelic drive, or “e-Drive.” “The e-Drive is programmed to act transiently and then disappear from the population,” he added.

In their study, all of the offspring were converted to their native genes in eight-to-ten generations, which took six months in flies. The researchers said that the self-eliminating nature of the e-Drive means that it can be introduced and re-introduced as needed. The experts are currently developing a similar e-Drive system in mosquitoes to help prevent the spread of malaria.

For more information, read the article from UC San Diego.