CRISPR-based genetic control strategies for insect pests

Genetic control strategies such as the sterile insect technique have successfully fought insect pests worldwide. The CRISPR(clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology, together with high-quality genomic resources obtained in more and more species, greatly facilitates the development of novel genetic control insect strains that can be used in area-wide and species-specific pest control programs. Here, we review the research progress towards state-of-art CRISPR-based genetic control strategies, including gene drive, sex ratio distortion, CRISPRengineered genetic sexing strains, and precision-guided sterile insect technique. These strategies’ working mechanisms,potential resistance development mechanisms, and regulations are illustrated and discussed. In addition, recent developments such as stacked and conditional systems are introduced. We envision that the advances in genetic technology will continue to be one of the driving forces for developing the next generation of pest control strategies.

Emerging technological developments to address pest resistance in Bt cotton

Cotton plays a crucial role in shaping Indian economy and rural livelihoods.The cotton crop is prone to numerous insect pests,necessitating insecticidal application,which increases production costs.The advent of the expression of Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt)insecticidal protein in cotton has significantly reduced the burden of pest without compromising environmental or human health.After the introduction of transgenic cotton,the cultivated area expanded to 22 million hectares,with a 64% increase in adoption by farmers worldwide.Currently,Bt cotton accounts for 93% of the cultivated cotton area in India.However,extensive use of Bt cotton has accelerated resistance development in pests like the pink bollworm.Furthermore,the overreliance on Bt cotton has reduced the use of broad-spectrum pesticides,favouring the emergence of secondary pests with significant challenges.This emphasizes the urgent necessity for developing novel pest management strategies.The high-dose and refuge strategy was initially effective for managing pest resistance in Bt cotton,but its implementation in India faced challenges due to misunderstandings about the use of non-Bt refuge crops.Although gene pyramiding was introduced as a solution,combining mono toxin also led to instances of cross-resistance.Therefore,there is a need for further exploration of biotechnological approaches to manage insect resistance in Bt cotton.Advanced biotechnological strategies,such as sterile insect release,RNA interference(RNAi)-mediated gene silencing,stacking Bt with RNAi,and genome editing using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein(CRISPR-Cas),offer promising tools for identifying and managing resistance genes in insects.Additionally,CRISPR-mediated gene drives and the development of novel biopesticides present potential avenues for effective pest management in cotton cultivation.These innovative approaches could significantly enhance the sustainability and efficacy of pest resistance management in Bt cotton.

Development and assessment of cutting-edge biotechnologies

The emergence of advanced biotechnologies has intensified in recent years.The rapid development of these biotechnologies has had a wide and profound impact globally,with the majority on the frontier of biosecurity technologies.The global biosecurity situation is currently highly challenging,with the characteristics of internationalization,extremely serious harm,and complex development.The misuse and abuse of biotechnologies are common,which thereby endanger biosecurity.The international community and governments have attached great importance to cutting-edge biotechnologies and are implementing laws and regulations to control and prevent biosecurity-related influences.By tracking the frontier progress of the new technologies generated from gene editing,gene drives,synthetic biology,and related cross-disciplines as applied in the biosecurity field,we analyzed the development trends in biotechnologies and their potential influence.On the one hand,this paper proposes that there is an urgent need for global cooperation to formulate management,control strategies,and measures for cutting-edge technologies in biosecurity to jointly promote their sound development.On the other hand,the international community should jointly shoulder the responsibility for safeguarding biosecurity and restrict the biotechnologies to rational applications within legal and ethical frameworks.This paper aims to provide a reference for the prevention of misuse and abuse of biotechnologies and support global cooperation in biosecurity governance.

Bednets or Biotechnology:To Rescue Current Persons or Research for the Future?

Malaria is still a significant cause of death and suffering throughout much of the developing world.Fortunately,the global community provides significant(though,not sufficient)resources to combat the disease and the parasite that causes it.How ought we to allocate these resources?One option is to purchase and distribute perhaps the best tool we have to prevent malaria:insecticide-treated nets.Another route would see us invest in research and development of a novel biotechnology that could eradicate the disease in perpetuity.If we choose to spend our money on insecticidetreated nets,we will be rescuing current individuals at risk of being infected with the parasite.Though,we can be almost certain there will be future individuals who will also need rescuing.If we instead invest in the novel biotech no logy,we could benefit countless future individuals who never have to experience the threat of malaria.Hence,this would mean that some number of current individuals will die due to the lack of insecticide-treated nets that otherwise could have saved their lives.So,ought we to rescue current,identifiable individuals,or ought we invest in research for the sake of the future?After an exploration of the duty to rescue and cost-effectiveness analysis,I suggest we look towards the literature on intergenerational justice for a justifiable answer to the question of how we ought to allocate our malaria resources.