Experts Explain Difference Between CRISPR and Gene Drive

Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and the University of California Irvine Malaria Initiative (UCMI) explain the difference between gene drive and CRISPR technology in a video.

Gene drive works by increasing the likelihood that a modified gene will be inherited by its offspring. Normally, genes have a 50/50 chance of being inherited, but gene drive systems could increase that chance upwards to 99 percent.

Tony Nolan, Lecturer and Group Leader at LSTM, described gene drive as a new potential way of eradicating or altering disease vectors. He further explained that researchers are trying to develop a gene drive that could contribute to malaria eradication by spreading a genetic element into a mosquito population that would make it either unable to transmit parasites or reduce the capacity of that population to reproduce.

CRISPR can be easily described with words such as find, cut, edit or replace, as that is how CRISPR works to make genetic changes. Rebeca Carballar, UCMI researcher, explained that CRISPR can be repurposed in a gene drive system but not all gene drives are CRISPR-based.

Watch the video on Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research Youtube Channel.