A new gene editing technique called Allele Sail, developed by experts from
Macquarie University and the California Institute of Technology, allows
subtle and more controlled modifications in the genetic makeup of wild
populations compared to gene drives. Their study is published in Nature
Communications.



Allele Sail is designed to create transgenic organisms that express gene
editors, which will make targeted changes in the genome. When released with
their wild counterparts, these organisms will produce offspring with two
copies of modified genes and one copy of the editor. This method will keep
the frequency of the gene editor low in the population.



"Allele Sails offer a simple way to alter the traits and fates of wild
populations, and may be more acceptable to use as the genetically modified
part is introduced at low frequencies, and its persistence can be tuned,"
said Michelle Johnson, the lead author and a computational biologist from
CalTech. The research team envisions Allele Sails as a tool to address major
global challenges, such as heat tolerance and disease resistance. They
believe this approach could help alleviate public concerns and regulatory
challenges associated with gene drive.



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ic-editing-technique-to-alter-the-traits-and-fates-of-wild-populations