Consequences of resistance evolution in a Cas9-based sex conversion-suppression gene drive for insect pest management
Resistance evolution caused by CRISPR/Cas9 gene-drive systems has a major impact on both the future scientific design of such gene-drive systems and on the politics of regulating experimentation and use of such systems. In our study, we show that in-frame drive-resistant alleles can be produced readily and inherently in a suppression gene-drive system. The rate at which such alleles emerge will determine the maximum size of the population that could be targeted for collapse and elimination. Here, we provide a potential target site and the modeling framework for implementation and optimization of a suppression gene-drive strategy to control Mediterranean fruit fly populations.