Closing the gap to effective gene drive in Aedes aegypti by exploiting germline regulatory elements
Michelle A. E. Anderson, Estela González, Joshua X. D. Ang, Lewis Shackleford, Katherine Nevard, Sebald A. N. Verkuijl, Matthew P. Edgington, Tim Harvey‐Samuel, Luke Alphey
Abstract
Abstract CRISPR/Cas9-based homing gene drives have emerged as a potential new approach to mosquito control. While attempts have been made to develop such systems in Aedes aegypti , none have been able to match the high drive efficiency observed in Anopheles species. Here we generate Ae. aegypti transgenic lines expressing Cas9 using germline-specific regulatory elements and assess their ability to bias inheritance of an sgRNA-expressing element ( kmo sgRNAs ). Four shu -Cas9 and one sds3 -Cas9 isolines can significantly bias the inheritance of kmo sgRNAs , with sds3 G1-Cas9 causing the highest average inheritance of ~86% and ~94% from males and females carrying both elements outcrossed to wild-type, respectively. Our mathematical model demonstrates that sds3 G1-Cas9 could enable the spread of the kmo sgRNAs element to either reach a higher (by ~15 percentage point) maximum carrier frequency or to achieve similar maximum carrier frequency faster (by 12 generations) when compared to two other established split drive systems.