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Lethal Gene Drive Selects Inbreeding

J J Bull
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/046847
J J Bull
*Dept of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
†Inst. Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
‡Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712
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Abstract

The use of ‘selfish’ gene drive systems to suppress or even extinguish populations has been proposed on theoretical grounds for almost half a century. Creating these genes has recently become possible with CRISPR technology. One seemingly feasible approach, originally proposed by Burt, is to create a homing endonuclease gene (HEG) that inserts into an essential gene, enabling heterozygote viability but causing homozygote lethality. With 100% segregation distortion in gametes, such genes can cause profound population suppression if resistance does not evolve. Here, population genetic models are used to consider the evolution of inbreeding (specifically selfing) as a possible response to a recessively lethal HEG with complete segregation distortion. Numerical analyses indicate a rich set of outcomes, but selfing often evolves in response to the HEG, with a corresponding partial restoration of mean fitness. Whether selfing does indeed evolve and its effect in restoring fitness depends heavily on the magnitude of inbreeding depression. Overall, these results point toward an underappreciated evolutionary response to block the harmful effects of a selfish gene. They raise the possibility that extreme population suppression may be more difficult to achieve than currently imagined.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted June 03, 2016.
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Lethal Gene Drive Selects Inbreeding
J J Bull
bioRxiv 046847; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/046847
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Lethal Gene Drive Selects Inbreeding
J J Bull
bioRxiv 046847; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/046847

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