delta

Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Development of a Gene Drive Mouse for Biodiversity Protection on Islands

Exploring Stakeholder Perspectives on the Development of a Gene Drive Mouse for Biodiversity Protection on Islands

Gene drives — mechanisms for biased inheritance —have implications for a wide range of fields, including public health, ecology, national security, and more. Gene drives can occur naturally in populations, but scientists are working to develop new drives in the lab through genetic engineering. Potential applications of these genetically engineered drives include eradicating mosquitoes to address the spread of human and avian malaria and eliminating invasive rodents on islands. Communities, stakeholders, and the broader public will likely be following their development, whether with enthusiasm, opposition, concerned scrutiny, or a combination of all of the above. Keystone worked in partnership with North Carolina State University and Arizona State University to incorporate stakeholder input into gene drive research exploring the feasibility and suitability of the use of gene drives for control of invasive rodents, which threaten island ecologies and biodiversity. Activities included a landscape analysis of stakeholder interests and perspectives surrounding the development of a gene drive mouse for biodiversity protection in island settings and a stakeholder workshop. Both the stakeholder analysis and laboratory research are funded through the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Safe Genes program. Reports are available here.