Wolf Sarah, Collatz Jana, Enkerli Jürg, Widmer Franco, Romeis Jörg
Research Division Agroecology and Environment, Agroscope, Zürich, Switzerland.
Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Risk Anal. 2023 Oct;43(10):1921-1932. doi: 10.1111/risa.14096. Epub 2023 Jan 24.
Genetically engineered gene drives (geGD) are potentially powerful tools for suppressing or even eradicating populations of pest insects. Before living geGD insects can be released into the environment, they must pass an environmental risk assessment to ensure that their release will not cause unacceptable harm to non-targeted entities of the environment. A key research question concerns the likelihood that nontarget species will acquire the functional GD elements; such acquisition could lead to reduced abundance or loss of those species and to a disruption of the ecosystem services they provide. The main route for gene flow is through hybridization between the geGD insect strain and closely related species that co-occur in the area of release and its expected dispersal. Using the invasive spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, as a case study, we provide a generally applicable strategy on how a combination of interspecific hybridization experiments, behavioral observations, and molecular genetic analyses can be used to assess the potential for hybridization.
基因工程基因驱动（geGD）是抑制甚至根除害虫种群的潜在有力工具。在将经过基因工程改造的昆虫释放到环境中之前，它们必须通过环境风险评估，以确保其释放不会对环境中的非目标实体造成不可接受的危害。一个关键的研究问题是，非目标物种获得功能性基因驱动元件的可能性；这种获得可能导致这些物种数量减少或消失，并破坏它们所提供的生态系统服务。基因流动的主要途径是通过基因工程改造的昆虫品系与在释放区域及其预期扩散区域共存的密切相关物种之间的杂交。以入侵性的铃木氏果蝇（Drosophila suzukii）为例，我们提供了一种普遍适用的策略，说明如何结合种间杂交实验、行为观察和分子遗传分析来评估杂交的可能性。
