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SELECTED Journal Covers

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SELECTED Manuscripts - Submitted/Under Peer Review/PrePrints

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2023

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(119) Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Bui, M., Rasgon, J.L., Akbari, O.S., CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri. 2023.  

Current Publication Status: Submitted to Gen Biotechnology and bioRxiv. 

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https://hub.docker.com/r/chipdelmal/monet-pgs

(118)  Li, M., Kandul, N., Sun, R., Yang, T., Benetta, E.D., Brogan, D.J., Antoshechkin, I., Sánchez C, H.M., Zhan, Y., DeBeaubien, N., Loh, Y.M., Su, M.P., Montell, C., Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S., Targeting Sex Determination to Suppress Mosquito Populations. 2023.

Current Publication Status: Under Peer Review @ Nature Communications. Manuscript is available on BioRxiv.  

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Schematic representation of the REAPER system

(117) Dalla Benetta, E.,  López-Denman, A., Li, H.H., Masri, R.A., Brogan, D.J., Bui, M., Yang, T., Li, M., Dunn, M., Klein, M.J., Jackson, S., Catalan, K., Blasdell, K.R., Tng, P., Antoshechkin, I., Alphey, L.S., Paradkar, P.N., Akbari, O.S., Engineered Antiviral Sensor Targets Infected Mosquitoes. 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.27.525922

Current Publication Status: Under Revision @ Nature Communications. Manuscript is available on bioRxiv. 

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(116) Lutrat, C., Burckbuchler, M., Proveti Olmo, R.,  Beugnon, R., Fontaine, A.,  Akbari, O.S. , Argiles, R., Baldet, T,  Bouyer, J., Marois, E., Combining two Genetic Sexing Strains allows sorting of non-transgenic males for Aedes genetic control. 2023 

Current Publication Status: Under Minor Revision @ Communications Biology. Manuscript is available on BioRxiv. 
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(115) Li,HH, Su, M.P, Wu, SC, Chang, MC, Tsai, KN, Wang, HW, Chen, GH, Tang, CK, Chung, PJ, Tsai, WT,  Huang, LR,  Chen, HW, Pan, CY, Akbari, O.S., Chang, HH, Yu, GY, Marshall, J.M., Chen, CH., Mechanical transmission of dengue by Aedes mosquitoes contributes to disease proliferation. 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.07.531453

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​Current Publication Status: Under Revision at  Lancet series journal of “ebiomedicine” ​ ; Manuscript available on bioRxiv.  
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Generation of CRISPR mutants in this study.

(114) Nadya Urakova, Renuka E. Joseph, Allyn Huntsinger, Vanessa M. Macias, Matthew J. Jones, Leah T. Sigle, Ming Li, Omar S. Akbari, Zhiyong Xi, Konstantinos Lymperopoulos, Richard T Sayre, Elisabeth A. McGraw, Jason L. Rasgon.  Alpha-mannosidase-2 modulates arbovirus infection in a pathogen- and Wolbachia-specific manner in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. 2023

Current Publication Status: Submitted to Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology;  Manuscript available on bioRxiv. 

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(113) Maekawa, E., Li, M., Akbari, O.S., Ohsawa, O.,  Dahanukar, A.,  Disruption of carbohydrate feeding and metabolism in Aedes aegypti mutants lacking a conserved internal sweet taste receptor. 2023 

​Current Publication Status: Under Peer Review @ Review Commons

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OSNs expressing divergent chemoreceptor gene families project centrally to defined regions of the Aedes aegypti antennal lobe

(112) Shankar, S., Tauxe, G.M., Spikol, E.D., Li, M., Akbari, O.S., Giraldo, D., McMeniman, C.J., Synergistic Coding of Human Odorants in the Mosquito Brain. 2023 

Current Publication Status: Preparing Submission; Manuscript available on bioRxiv. 

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Schematic of the various attractive and aversive cues emitted from a human arm.

(111) Clark, J.T.,  Nunez-Flores, R., Ejercito, J., Guda, T., Naters, W., Luy, M., Li, M., Akbari, O.S., Ray, A., Insect olfactory neurons and receptors detect DEET through widespread activation and selective inhibition. 2023

Current Publication Status:  Under Revision @ Cell Reports 

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS - Peer reviewed/Accepted/ In Press

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Model-predicted impact of releases of Ifegenia (1-3 target sites) and pgSIT eggs on A. gambiae population density and elimination

(110) Smidler, A.L., Pai, J.J.,  Apte, R.A., Sánchez C., H.M., Corder, R.M., Gutiérrez, E.J., Thakre, N., Antoshechkin, I.,  Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S., A confinable female-lethal population suppression system in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae. 2023. doi. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.08.30.505861 

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​Current Publication Status: Accepted and In Press @ Science Advances and bioRxiv.

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Integrated models of mosquito genetic control

(109) Raban, R., Marshall, J.M., Hay, B.A., Akbari, O.S.,  Manipulating the Destiny of Natural Populations using CRISPR. 2023. 

Current Publication Status: Invited Review. Accepted pending Minor Revisions @ Annual Review of Genetics. 

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(108) James, S.L., O’Brochta, D.A., Randazzo, F., Akbari, O.S., A gene drive is a gene drive: the debate over lumping or splitting definitions. 2023. Nature Communications. doi. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37483-z

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Methods for delivering Cas9 protein and gRNAs to ACP eggs were developed

(107) Bui, M., Raban, R., Akbari, O.S., Precise Genome Editing of the Asian Citrus Psyllid. 2023 

Current Publication Status: In Press @ Citrograph. Expected to be published on Jan. 2024

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Fold change of Cas9 RNA levels by RT-qPCR comparing the lack of upstream Polycomb response elements (PRE) to having PREs, considering varying heat shock durations and rearing temperatures

(106) Warsinger-Pepe, N., Chang, C., Desroberts, C.R., Akbari, O.S., Polycomb response elements reduce leaky expression of Cas9 under temperature-inducible Hsp70Bb promoter in Drosophila melanogaster. 2023.  G3. Genes Genomics and Genetics. doi. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkad024

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(105) Sangwoo, S.,  Miller, J.H., Malcolm, A.N., Raz, C.D., Eason, M.D., Giordano, B.V., Romero-Weaver, A.L., Jacobsen, C.M., Akbari, O.S., Raban, R., Mathias, D.K., Caragata, E.P., Vorsino, A.E., Chiu, J.C.,  Lee, Y., Arboviral disease outbreaks, Aedes mosquitoes, and the vector control efforts in the Pacific islands. 2023.  Frontiers in Tropical Diseases. doi. https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2023.1035273

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Quantified overexpression of CRISPRa transactivated eve and hh

(104) Bui, M.,  Benetta, E.D., Dong, Y., Zhao, Y., Yang, T., Li, M.,  Antoshechkin, I.A., Buchman, A., Bottino-Rojas, V.,  James, A.A., Perry, M.W., Dimopoulos, G.,  Akbari, O.S., CRISPR Mediated Transactivation in the Human Disease Vector Aedes aegypti. 2023. PLOS Pathogens. doi. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1010842

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(103)  Brisco, K., Jacobsen, C., Seok, S., Lee, Y., Akbari, O.S.,Cornel, A.J., Field evaluation of In2Care® Mosquito Traps to control Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in Hawai’i Island. 2023. The Journal of Medical Entomology. doi. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjad005 

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Aedes (Hulecoeteomyia) japonicus mitogenome tree

(102) Seok, S.,  Jacobsen, C.M., Romero-Weaver, A.L., Wanga, X., Nguyen, V.T., Collier, T.C.,  Riles, M.T., Akbari, O.S., Lee, Y., Complete mitogenome sequence of Aedes (Hulecoeteomyia) japonicus from Hawai’i Island. 2023. Mitochondrial DNA Part B.
doi. https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2022.2161328

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The Need for a Tiered Registry for US Gene Drive Governance. https://www.geneconvenevi.org/articles/the-need-for-a-tiered-registry-for-us-gene-drive-governance/

(101) Taitingfong, R.I.,  Triplett, C., Vásquez, V.N.,  Rajagopalan, R., Raban, R., Roberts, A., Terradas, G., Baumgartner, B., Emerson, C., Gould, F., Okumu, F., Schairer, C.E., Bossin, H., Buchman, L., Campbell, K.J., Clark, A., Delborne, J., Esvelt, K., Fisher, J., Friedman, R.M., Gronvall, G., Gurfield, N., Heitman, E., Kofler, N., Kuiken, T., Kuzma, J.,  Manrique-Saide, P., Marshall, J.M., Montague, M., Morrison, A., Opesen, C.C., Phelan, R., Piaggio, A., Quemada, H., Rudenko, L., Sawadogo, N., Smith, R., Tuten, H., Ullah, A., Vorsino, A., Windbichler, N., Akbari, O.S., Long, K.,  Lavery, J., Weiss Evans, S., Tountas, K., Bloss, C.S. Exploring the Value of a Global Gene Drive Project Registry. 2023. doi. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01591-w 

​Press Release(s)
Experts from 14 Nations Discuss Global Gene Drive Project Registry

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Injection and crossing steps when using genetically encoded Cas9 to generate site-directed mutations and insertions.

(100) Sun R., Raban, R., Akbari, O.S. Generating Aedes aegypti Mutant Strains with Transgenic Cas9. 2023. Cold Springs Harbor Protocols. doi: https://10.1101/pdb.prot108085

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Basic principles in using CRISPR/Cas9 to generate mutant mosquitoes.

(99) Sun R., Raban, R., Akbari, O.S. CRISPR–Cas9 Methods and Key Considerations in the Production of Aedes aegypti Mutant Strains. 2023. Cold Springs Harbor Protocols. doi: https://10.1101/pdb.top107693

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2022

Image taken from Current Biology paper entitled "Visual-Olfactory Integration in the Human Disease Vector Mosquito Aedes aegypti"

(99) Coutinho-Abreu, I.V., Akbari, O.S., Technological Advances in Mosquito Olfaction Neurogenetics. 2022. Trends in Genetics. doi. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2022.10.007. 



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Gene drive element (wGDe) inheritance and somatic eye phenotype in the progeny of double heterozygote split-drive carriers.

(97)  Verkuijl, S.,A.,N., Gonzalez, E., Li, M., Ang, J., Kandul, N.P., Anderson, M.,A.,E., Akbari, O.S., Bonsall, M.B.,  Alphey, L., A CRISPR endonuclease gene drive reveals two distinct mechanisms of inheritance bias. 2022. Nature Communications. doi. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34739-y

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(96) Raban, R., Gendron, W., Akbari, O.S., A perspective on the expansion of the genetic technologies to support the control of neglected vector-borne diseases and conservation. 2022. Frontiers in Tropical Diseases. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2022.999273



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(95) Kandul, N.P.,  Liu, J., Buchman, A., Shriner, I.C., Corder, R.M., Warsinger-Pepe, N., Yang, T., Yadav, A.K., Scott,M.J.,  Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S.,  Precision Guided Sterile Males Suppress Populations of an Invasive Crop Pest. 2022. Gen Biotechnology. doi. 
https://doi.org/10.1089/genbio.2022.0019


Press Release(s)
CRISPR-based Technology Targets Global Crop Pest
Environment Friendly CRISPR Technology Could Check Crop Pests
Tweaking crops to prevent disease and reduce pesticide use — a CRISPR solution - Genetic Literacy Project 
PODCAST -Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta - Precision Insect Control with Gene Editing​
​How CRISPR could help save crops from devastation caused by pests
Agtech startup Agragene relocates from San Diego to St. Louis, bringing with it thousands of fruit flies
​

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CRISPR-Dx Formats For Detection of Nucleic Acids

(94) Brogan, D.J, and Akbari, O.S., CRISPR Diagnostics: Advances Towards the Point-of-Care. 2022. ACS Biochemistry.  ​doi. https//doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.2c00051

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(93) Schairer, C.E., Triplett, C., Akbari, O.S.,  Bloss, C.S., Gene drives in the golden state:  Appealing features and concerns identified by California residents considering proposed gene drive systems to control mosquito-borne disease. 2022. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., doi. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2022.848707

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(92) Djokic, S., Bakhrat, A., Li, M., Akbari, O.S., Abdu, U., Scale-type-specific requirement for the mosquito A aegypti Spindle-F homologue by regulating microtubule organization. 2022. Insect Mol Biol. doi https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12752 

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Delivery methods for CRISPR DNA editing components

(91)  Sun, R., Li, M.,  McMeniman, C.J.,  Akbari, O.S.  CRISPR-mediated genome engineering in Aedes aegypti. 2022. Methods in Molecular Biology. doi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2380-0_2  

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(90) Raban, R., and Akbari, O.S.  2nd edition of the book Transgenic Insects: Techniques and Applications. Chapter 3. An Introduction to the Molecular Genetics of Gene Drives and Thoughts on Their Gradual Transition to Field Use. 2022.  doi. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800621176.0008

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2021

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(89) Liu, W-L., Hsu, C-W., Chan, S-P., Yen, P-S., Su, M.P., Li, J-C., Li, H-H., Cheng, L., Tang, C-K., Ko, S-H., Tsai, H-K., Tsai, Z.T-Y., Akbari, O.S., Failoux, A-B., Chen, C-H., Transgenic refractory Aedes aegypti lines are resistant to multiple serotypes of dengue virus. 2021. Nature Scientific Reports. doi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03229-4

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Using Sex-linked Cas9 strains to induce sterile/lethal mosaicism for genetic sex selection

(88) ​Gamez, S., Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Buchman, A., Kandul, N.P., Sanchez, S.C.M.,  Bennett, J.B., Sanchez, H.M., Yang, T., Antoshechkin, I., Duque, J.E., Papathanos, P.A., Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S., Exploiting a Y Chromosome linked Cas9 for Sex Selection and Gene drive. 2021. Nature Communications. doi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27333-1

Supplementary Information pdf

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Harnessing SENSR to detect evidence of SARS-CoV-2 viral transcripts.

(87) Brogan,D.J., Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Lin, C.P., Smidler, A.L., Yang, T., Alcantara, L.M., Antoshechkin, I., Liu, J.,  Raban, R.R., Belda-Ferre, P., Knight, R.,  Komives, E.A., Akbari, O.S., Development of a Rapid and Sensitive CasRx-based Diagnostic Assay for SARS-CoV2.  2021. ACS SENSORS. doi https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.1c01088. 

Supplementary Information pdf 

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Press Release(s)

• Panel Discusses Campus Initiatives and Research Labs Work during COVID-19
• UC San Diego: A Deep Look Into The New World Of COVID-19 Innovation
• ​​Researchers Develop CRISPR-based Rapid Diagnostic Tool for SARS-CoV-2
• CRISPR-based diagnostics: expanding the toolbox against COVID-19​
• UCSD Scientists Develop SENSR Coronavirus Detection System
• UCSD Developing SARS-CoV-2 At-Home, Molecular Test Leveraging CRISPR, Isothermal Amplification

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(86) Parks, S.C., Nguyen, C., Nasrolahi, S., Juncaj, D., Lu, D.,, Ramaswamy, R., Buchman, A., . Akbari, O.S., Yamanaka, N., Boulanger, M.J.,  Dillman, A.R., Parasitic nematodes secrete fatty acid- and retinol-binding proteins to compromise host immunity by interfering with host lipid signaling pathways. 2021. 
PLoS Pathog.  doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010027. 

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Mosquito olfactory receptor families expressed in odorant receptor neurons (ORNs) and housed in distinct sensilla.

(85) Coutinho-Abreu, I.V.,  Riffell, J.A., and Akbari, O.S. The Neuroethology of Mosquito Host-seeking Behavior. 2021. Trends in Parasitology. doi https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2021.09.012

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Assessment of temperature inducible pgSIT systems.

(84)  Kandul, N.P., Liu, J.,  Akbari, O.S., Temperature-Inducible Precision Guided Sterile Insect Technique. 2021. The CRISPR Journal. doi https://doi.org/10.1089/crispr.2021.0077 

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Disruption of yellow and white loci in F1 trans-heterozygous flies.

(83) Kandul, N.P., Belikoff, E.J., Liu, J., Buchman, A., Li, F., Yamamoto, A.,  Yang, T.,  Shriner, I., Scott, M.J.,  Akbari, O.S.,   Genetically Encoded CRISPR components Yield Efficient Gene Editing in the Invasive Pest, Drosophila suzukii. 2021. CRISPR Journal. doi https://doi.org/10.1089/crispr.2021.0032


Press Release(s)
Spotlight on Genetic Design in a Spotted Wing Crop Killer

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(82) Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Duque, J.E., Akbari, O.S., CRISPR-Cas based insect genetic control technologies and its applications for Chagas disease. Tecnologías de control genético de insectos basadas en CRISPR-Cas y su aplicación en la enfermedad de Chagas. 2021.  Book Chapter for Vectores. Invited. 

PDF of entire book here. 

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Examples of novel suppression and modification approaches in transgenic mosquitoes

(81)  Wang, G.H., Gamez, S., Raban, R.,  Marshall, J.M., Alphey, L., Li, M.,  Rasgon, J.L., Akbari, O.S.  Combating mosquito-borne pathogens using genetic control technologies. 2021. Nature Communications. doi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24654-z 

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(80) Ming Li, Ting Yang, Michelle Bui, Stephanie Gamez, Tyler Wise, Nikolay P. Kandul, Junru Liu, Lenissa Alcantara, Haena Lee, Jyotheeswara R. Edula, Robyn Raban, Yinpeng Zhan, Yijin Wang, Nick DeBeaubien, Jieyan Chen, Hector M. Sanchez C., Jared B. Bennett, Igor Antoshechkin, Craig Montell, John M. Marshall, and Omar S. Akbari. 
​Eliminating Mosquitoes with Precision Guided Sterile Males. 2021.  Nature Communications. doi https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25421-w

​Supplementary Information pdf

Press Release(s) (>25 News outlets)

• Scientific American - First Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released in U.S. Are Hatching Now
• LA TIMES: COVID isn’t spread by mosquitoes. But the next pandemic might be
• KCRW Los Angeles - NPR - Noticed more mosquitos lately? Here’s how to prevent infestations and stay safe​
• www.​Genengnews.com  -​Mosquitoes Sterilized by CRISPR Powered Precision System​​
• www.sciencedaily.com - New technology designed to genetically control disease-spreading mosquitoes
• New precision-guided sterile insect technique designed to control disease-spreading mosquitoes
• Can we genetically control the world’s deadliest animal?
• www.inovativegenomics.org - New Technology Designed to Genetically Control Disease-Spreading Mosquitoes
• Wolbachia to the rescue – reducing dengue just like a COVID-19 vaccine​
• Republicworld.com - Australian Study Finds Bacteria Effective Against Dengue-carrying Mosquitoes 
• CRISPR MEDICINE NEWS - CRISPR Provides New Hope for Control of Mosquito-Borne Viral Diseases
• CRISPR Technology Can Eliminate Disease-Spreading Mosquitoes​
• You Have No Idea How Good Mosquitoes Are at Smelling Us

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(79) Gamez, S., Vesga, L.C., S Mendez-Sanchez, S.C., . Akbari, O.S., Spatial control of gene expression in flies using bacterially derived binary transactivation systems. 2021. May 8.  Insect Molecular Biology. doi: 10.1111/imb.12717. 

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Public Engagement

(78) Cynthia E. Schairer, James Najera, Anthony A. James, Omar S. Akbari, and Cinnamon S. Bloss.  Oxitec and MosquitoMate in the United States: Lessons for the Future of Gene Drive Mosquito Control. 2021. Pathogens and Global Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/20477724.2021.1919378

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B2t mutant males are sterile

(77) J. Chen, J. Luo, Y. Wang, A. S. Gurav, M. Li, O. S. Akbari, and C. Montell, Suppression of female fertility in Aedes aegypti with a CRISPR-targeted male-sterile mutation.   2021. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). 10.1073/pnas.2105075118


Press Release(s)

• Sterilizing Skeeters
• Sterilization of skaters using CRISPR / Cas9 
• Genetic engineering may help control disease-carrying mosquitoes - The economist. 
• CRISPR GIVES MOSQUITOES CONTAGIOUS INFERTILITY - FUTURITY​
• Researchers Begin to Scratch Surface in Work to Create Sterile Male Mosquitoes

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Development of Synthetic Reproductive Barriers

(76) Buchman, A., Shriner, I., Yang, T., Liu, J., Antoshechkin, I., Marshall, J.M., Perry, M.W., Akbari, O.S.* Engineered Reproductively Isolated Species Drive Reversible Population Replacement. 2021. Nature Communications. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23531-z.

Supplementary Information PDF


Press Release(s)

• Synthetic SPECIES developed for use as a confinable gene drive
• ​Gene tech to prevent crossbreeding could safely harness the power of gene drives - The Science Advisory Board
• Scientists develop new gene drive with a built-in genetic barrier
• Scientists design new gene drive to stop the transmission of devastating diseases
• Harnessing extreme underdominance to engineer a synthetic species - Behind the Paper - Nature Bioengineering. ​
• The Power of Gene Drives: Altering Species Without Losing Control
• Video: Here’s how synthetic flies could become a major tool in the quest to control insect-borne diseases​

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sGD elements display different Super-Mendelian inheritance patterns depending on the transheterozygote progenitor sex

(75)  Terradas, G. , Buchman, A.B., Bennett, J.B., Shriner, I., Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S., Bier, E., Inherently confinable split-drive systems in Drosophila. 2021. Nature Communications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21771-7


Press Release(s)

• New ‘Split-drive’ System Puts Scientists in the (Gene) Driver Seat. 
• ​GEN: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology news. Gene Drives Built to Follow More Stringent Rules of the Road

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Performance of contemporary gene drive systems for population replacement

(74) Kandul, N.P., Liu, J., Bennett, J.B., Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S. A home and rescue gene drive forces its inheritance stably persisting in populations. 2021. eLife. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.65939

Press Release(s)

• New ‘Split-drive’ System Puts Scientists in the (Gene) Driver Seat. 
• ​GEN: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology news. Gene Drives Built to Follow More Stringent Rules of the Road

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Schematic representation of a paternal sex ratio distorter.

(73) Benetta, E.D., Akbari, O.S.,  Ferree, P.M.  Mechanistic Comparison of Reproductive Manipulations Caused by Selfish Symbionts and Chromosomes. 2021. Heredity. PMID: 33649572DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00410-3 

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Ubiquitous in vivo exogenous RNA targeting using a three-component CasRx system.

(72) Sun, R., Brogan, D.,  Buchman, A., Yang, T.,  Akbari, O.S.  Ubiquitous and tissue-specific RNA targeting in Drosophila melanogaster using CRISPR/CasRx. 2021.  J Vis Exp. 2021 Feb 5;(168). doi: 10.3791/62154.

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Overview of the mosquito small RNA genomics resource.

(71) Ma, Q., Srivastav, S.P.,  Gamez, S., Feitosa-Suntheimer, F., Patterson, E.I., Johnson, R.M., Matson, E.R., Gold, A.S., Brackney, D.E., Connor, J.H., Colpitts, T.M., Hughes, G.L., Rasgon, J.L, Nolan, T., Akbari, O.S., Lau, N.C.,  An integrated mosquito small RNA genomics resource reveals dynamic evolution and host responses to viruses and transposons. 2021. Genome Research. doi: 10.1101/gr.265157.120



Press Release(s)

• Science Daily - "Researchers uncover viral small RNAs in mosquito cells"

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2020

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Core Commitments for Field Trials of Gene Drive Organisms

(70) Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper Jason A. Delborne, Owain R Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, Jim V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E. Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari†, Core commitments for field trials of gene drive organisms. 2020. Science. DOI: 10.1126/science.abd1908

Link to Supplemental File PDF 

Summary: http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/370/6523/1417?ijkey=KnRWjndPVB0Rs&keytype=ref&siteid=sci
                                                                                                                                             
Reprint: http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/370/6523/1417?ijkey=KnRWjndPVB0Rs&keytype=ref&siteid=sci
 
Full text: http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/370/6523/1417?ijkey=KnRWjndPVB0Rs&keytype=ref&siteid=sci

CLICK HERE to Become a Signatory to these Core Commitments.

Press Releases:

• Scientists Set a Path for Field Trials of Gene Drive Organisms
• Science Papers Present Updated Rhesus Macaque Genome Assembly, Responsible Use of Gene Drive Technology
• Over 40 Scientists Set Path for Field Trials of Gene Drive Organisms - 
• Zika 5 years later: Still much to learn as ‘likely’ future outbreak looms​ - Healio
• Genetically Engineered Organisms: Path Set for Field Trials of Gene Drive Organisms​​

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Timeline for pupal and adult Nasonia vitripennis microinjection

(69) Dalla Benetta, E., Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Rasgon, J.L.,  Akbari, O.S., ​ Methods for pupal and adult injections for RNAi, ReMOT and BAPC- mediated CRISPR gene editing in Nasonia vitripennis. 2020. JOVE. doi: 10.3791/61892

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(68) Alphey, L.S, Crisanti, A., Randazzo, F., Akbari, O.S. Standardizing the Definition of Gene Drive. 2020. PNAS. doi. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2020417117 

Supplementary Table 1. 

CLICK HERE to Become a Signatory to these Definitions
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(67)  Navarro-Payá, D., Flis, I.,  Anderson, M.A.E.,  Hawes, P., Li, M., Akbari, O.S., Basu, S., and Alphey, L., Targeting female flight for genetic control of mosquitoes.  2020.  Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases. doi. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008876


Press Releases(s)
Flightless female mosquitoes generated at Pirbright could aid disease control

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Gene Drive Categories

(66)  Schairer, C.E., Cheung, C., Buchman, A.,  Akbari, O.S., Bloss, C.S., Interdisciplinary development of a standardized introduction to gene drives for lay audiences. BMC Medical Research Methodology. 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-01146-0

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Phylogeny of the Argonaute-(Ago) family proteins

(65) Gamez, S., Srivastav, S., Akbari, O.S., Lau, NC., Diverse defenses: a perspective comparing Dipteran Piwi-piRNA pathways. (2020). Cells. doi:10.3390/cells9102180

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We got the Cover!

(64)  Bulger, E.A., Xu,X-R,  Gantz, V.M., Klanseck, C., Heimler, S.R., Klanseck, C.,  Auradkar, A., Bennett, J.B.,  Miller, L.A., Leahy, S.,   Juste, S.S.,  Buchman, A.,  Akbari, O.S.,  Marshall, J.M., Bier, E., Active-genetic neutralizing elements for halting or deleting gene-drives. (2020). Molecular Cell.  
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2020.09.003

Press Releases:

• ​www.scienceblog.com 

• ​www.scitechdaily.com 

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Global dynamics of gene expression in Ae. albopictus.

(63) Palatini, U., Masri, R.A., Cosme, L.V. , Koren, S., Thibaud-Nissen, F., Biedler, J.K., Krsticevic, F., Johnston, J.S., Halbach, R., Crawford, J.E., Antoshechkin, I., Failloux, A., Pischedda, E., Marconcini, M., Ghurye, J., Rhie, A., Sharma, A., Karagodin1, D.A., Jenrette, J., Gamez, S., Miesen, P., Caccone, A.,  Sharakhova, M.V., Tu, Z., Papathanos, P.A., Van Rij, R.P., Akbari, O.S., Powell, J., Phillippy, A.M., Bonizzoni M., Improved reference genome of the arboviral vector Aedes albopictus. (2020). Genome Biol. 2020 Aug 26;21(1):215. doi: 10.1186/s13059-020-02141-w.PMID: 32847630 

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Remot delivery into Oocytes

(62) Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Dalla Benetta, E., Heu, C.C., Rasgon, J., Ferree, P.M., Akbari, O.S., Germline mutagenesis of Nasonia vitripennis through ovarian delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein. (2020). Insect Molecular Biology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12663

 Awarded Biannual best paper prize by Insect Molecular Biology 

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(61) Raban, R., Akbari, O.S. A day in the life of a mosquito insectary team: pushing closer to solutions for mosquito-borne diseases. (2020).  Nature Lab Animal DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-020-0617-y


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We got the cover!

(60) Buchman, A., Brogan, D., Sun, R., Yang, T., Hsu, P., Akbari, O.S.* Programmable RNA Targeting using CasRx in Flies. The CRISPR Journal. (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/crispr.2020.0018 

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Translating gene drive classes into Spanish.

(59) Cheung, C., S Gamez, S.,Carballar-Lejarazú, R.,  Ferman, V.,  Vasquez, V., Terradas, G., Schairer, C.E.,  Bier, E., Marshall, J.M., James, A.A., Akbari, O.S., Bloss, C.S., Translating Gene Drive Science to Promote Linguistic Diversity in Community and Stakeholder Engagement. (2020). Global Public Health, DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2020.1779328 

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Timeline for creating C. quinquefasciatus mutants by microinjection

(58) Bui, M., Li, M., Raban, R.R., Liu, N., Akbari, O.S.*, Embryo microinjection techniques for efficient site-specific mutagenesis in Culex quinquefasciatus. (2020). Journal of Visualized Experiments (JOVE). DOI: doi:10.3791/61375

Video Link:
https://www.jove.com/t/61375/embryo-microinjection-techniques-for-efficient-site-specific?status=a63381k
 

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Development of sex-sorter cassette in Drosophila.

(57) Kandul, N.P., Liu, J.,  Hsu, A.D.,  Hay, B.A.,  Akbari, O.S.*, A novel drug-inducible sex-separation technique for insects. (2020). Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16020-2. 

Press Releases:

• Nature Research Community. Bioengineering. 

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Replacement, remediation and confinement outcomes for translocations and UDMEL

(56) Hector M Sanchez C. , Jared Bennett , Sean L Wu , Gordana Rasic , Omar S Akbari , John M. Marshall*. Confinement and reversibility of threshold-dependent gene drive systems in spatially-explicit Aedes aegypti populations. (2020).  BMC Biology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-020-0759-9​. 

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Composition and origin of PSR chromosome

(55)  Dalla Benetta, E., Antoshechkin,I., Yang,T.,  Nguyen, H.Q.M.,, Ferree, P.M.,* Akbari,O.S.* Genome Elimination Mediated by Gene Expression from a Selfish Chromosome. (2020). Science Advances . Vol. 6, no. 14, eaaz9808. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz9808. 

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Photo from iStock Microvone.

(54) Friedman, Robert M., John M. Marshall, and Omar S. Akbari. “Gene Drives: New and Improved.” Issues in Science and Technology 36, no. 2 (Winter 2020): 72–78.

• Commentary to this article written by four leaders: ​Jason Delborne, Kent Redford, Greg Kaebnick and Fred Gould. pdf. 

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Mathematical Model predictions comparing split drives to linked drives and release of a transgene.

(53) Ming Li, Ting Yang, Nikolai Kandul, Michelle Bui, Stephanie Gamez, Robyn Raban, Jared Bennett, Héctor M. Sánchez C., Gregory C. Lanzaro, Hanno Schmidt, Yoosook Lee, John M. Marshall, and Omar S. Akbari*. Development of a Confinable Gene-Drive System in the Human Disease Vector, Aedes aegypti. (2020). eLife. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.51701

Nature Lab Animal Research Highlight by Ellen P. Nuff (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-020-0490-8). pdf


Press Release(s):

• By Emily Packer, eLIFE Sciences
• Scientists develop first CRISPR-based gene drives for controlling dengue-carrying mosquitoes
• Zika 5 years later: Still much to learn as ‘likely’ future outbreak looms

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Engineered resistance to Dengue

(52) Anna Buchman, Stephanie Gamez, Ming Li, Igor Antoshechkin, Shin-Hang Lee, Shin-Wei Wang, Chun-Hong Chen, Melissa J. Klein, Jean-Bernard Duchemin, James E. Crowe, Jr., Prasad N. Paradkar*, and Omar S. Akbari*, Broad Dengue Neutralization in Mosquitoes Expressing an Engineered Antibody. (2020). Plos Pathogens.   doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008103

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Nature Lab Animal Research Highlight by Ellen P. Nuff (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41684-020-0490-8). pdf

Press Releases (>50 news articles below are some)
By Kelly Servick, Science Magazine, January 16, 2020 

• ​Genetically engineered mosquitoes resist spreading any form of dengue

By Genelle Weule, Genetic Literacy Project, January 29, 2020

• Mosquitoes engineered to resist dengue could become gene drive weapon against the deadly disease

CNet in Spanish, February, 2nd 2020

• Estos mosquitos con modificación genética repelen el dengue

​carhoy.com, In Spanish, February 6th, 2020

• Un mosquito "modificado" podría frenar la transmisión del dengue. 

La Nación

• Logran criar mosquitos que no pueden ser portadores del dengue

La Arena

• Científicos logran generar mosquitos inmunes al dengue

The daily Star, January 24th, 2019

• Researchers engineered mosquitoes resistant to spreading dengue

By Peter Rejcek, Singularity Hub, February 02, 2020

• ​Engineering Bugs, Resurrecting Species: The Wild World of Synthetic Biology for Conservation​

​By City News Service, 10news, January 16, 2020

• ​UC San Diego biologists help create fever-resistant mosquitoes

By EurekAlert!, January 16, 2020

• Breakthrough on curbing dengue

By City News Service, Fox5, January 16, 2020

• UCSD biologists create disease-resistant mosquitoes

By Chris Jennewein, Times of San Diego, January 16, 2020

• UCSD-Led Researchers Engineer Mosquitoes to Halt Spread of Deadly Dengue Virus

By Science Daily, January 16, 2020

• Mosquitoes engineered to repel dengue virus

​By Nick Larvars, New Atlas, January 16, 2020

• Mosquitoes resistant to all types of dengue virus engineered

By Bonnie Burton, cnet, January 17, 2020

• Genetically modified mosquitoes resist all dengue viruses, researchers find

​By James Patterson, tunisiesoir, January 18, 2020

• Report: Mosquitoes engineered to repel dengue virus

By Jeevan Biswas, ibtimes, January 20, 2020

• Dengue breakthrough: Scientists develop genetically engineered mosquito to combat the disease

​By Mario Aguilera, UC San Diego, January 23, 2020

• The mosquito that repels the dengue virus

​By Ronald Bailey, Reason, January 24, 2020

• Mosquitoes Genetically Engineered To Resist Dengue Fever

​By Brenda Gregorio-Nieto, NBC San Diego, January 26, 2020

• UC San Diego Scientists Engineer Mosquitoes to Repel Dengue Virus​

By Kevin Stone - The Heartland Institute

• RESEARCHERS GENETICALLY MODIFY MOSQUITOS TO PREVENT DENGUE FEVER

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Gene Drives in ACP

(51) Chaverra-Rodriguez, D., Bui, M., Li, M., Raban, R., Akbari, O.S.*, Genetic Manipulation Solutions to Eliminate The Asian Citrus Psyllid. (2020). Citrograph. Vol. 11, No. 1.  pdf. 

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We got the Cover!

(50)  Raban, R.R,  Marshall, J.M.,  Akbari,O.S*. Progress toward engineering gene drives for population control. (2020). Journal of Experimental Biology. 223, jeb208181. doi:10.1242/jeb.208181. pdf. 


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Split-HGD system forces super-Mendelian transmission and knocks out multiple genes

(49) Kandul, N.P, Liu, J., Buchman, A.B., Gantz, V.M., Bier, E., and Akbari, O.S.*, Assessment of a split homing based gene drive for efficient knockout of multiple genes.  (2020). G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. Feb. pii: g3.400985.2019. doi: 10.1534/g3.119.400985.

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Orthology analysis on Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus samples across corresponding developmental time points.

(48) Gamez, S., Antoshechkin, I., Mendez-Sanchez, S.C., Akbari, O.S.* The Developmental Transcriptome of Ae. albopictus, a Major Worldwide Human Disease Vector. (2020). G3. Genes, Genomes, Genetics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.119.401006. pdf


Supplementary Data 


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2019

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Mosquitoes are attracted to odors emitted by orchids.

(47) Chloé Lahondère, Clément Vinauger, Ryo P. Okubo, Gabriella Wolff, Omar S. Akbari, and Jeffrey A. Riffell,* The olfactory basis of orchid pollination by mosquitoes.​ (2019). PNAS. Dec 23. pii: 201910589. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1910589117.


Press Releases:
News Medical Life Sciences

• Study explains equal attraction of mosquitoes to flowers and humans

Phys.org, by James Urton

• Mosquitoes are drawn to flowers as much as people—and now scientists know why

​Technology Networks, Jan 22, 2020

• What Makes This Orchid So Irresistible to Mosquitoes?

​James Urton and Kendall Daniels

• Mosquitoes are drawn to flowers as much as people - and now scientists know why

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CRISPR/Cas9 efficiently generates heritable, site-specific mutations in Culex quinquefasciatus.

(46) Ming Li, Ting Li, Nannan Liu, Robyn Raban, Xuegui Wang and Omar S. Akbari*. Methods for the generation of heritable germline mutations in the disease vector Culex quinquefasciatus using CRISPR/Cas9. (2019). Insect Molecular Biology. doi: 10.1111/imb.12626.

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Precision guided SIT and Homing based Gene drives.

(45) ​Akbari, O.S*. Using CRISPR to Combat Human Disease Vectors. (2019). National Academy of Engineering. The Bridge. pdf. 

PDF to the Full Book. 

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Community-Engagement-Triangle (Capire) from the Capire consulting group.

(44) Cynthia E Schairer, Riley Taitingfong, Omar S. Akbari and Cinnamon S Bloss. A Typology of Community and Stakeholder Engagement Based on Documented Examples in the Field of Novel Vector Control. (2019). Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases. doi https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007863. pdf
 

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Schematic of life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum.

(43) John M. Marshall*, Robyn Raban, Nikolay P. Kandul, Jyotheeswara R. Edula,  Tomás León, and Omar S. Akbari*. Winning the tug-of-war between effector gene design and pathogen evolution in vector population replacement strategies. (2019). Frontiers in Genetics. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2019.01072   
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Model-predicted impact of releases of pgSIT eggs on Aedes aegypti mosquito population density with comparison to releases of Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique (IIT), release of insects carrying a dominant lethal gene (RIDL), and female-specific RIDL (fsRIDL).

(42)  Kandul, N.P,  Liu, J., Sanchez C., H.M.,Wu, S.L., Marshall, J.M.,  Akbari,O.S.*, Reply to ‘Concerns about the feasibility of using “precision guided sterile males” to control insects.’ (2019). Nature Communications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11617-8. pdf


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(41)  Richard Feachem, Ingrid Chen,  Omar S. Akbari, Amelia Bertozzi-Villa,  Samir Bhatt, Fred Binka,  Maciej Boni,  Caroline Buckee,  Joseph Dieleman,  Arjen Dondorp,  Alex Eapen,  Neelam Sekhri Feachem, Scott Filler, Peter Gething, Roly Gosling, Annie Haakenstad, ; Kelly Harvard, ; Arian Hatefi, ; Jimee Hwang, Dean Jamison,  Kate Jones, Corine Karema,  Richard Nchabi Kamwi,  Altaf Lal, PhD; Erika Larson,  Cynthia Lee,  Margaret Lees,  Neil Lobo,  Angela Micah,  Bruno Moonen,  Gretchen Newby, Xiao Ning, Muhammad Pate, Martha Quiñones, Michelle Roh, Ben Rolfe,  Dennis Shanks,  Balbir Singh, Kenneth Staley,  James Tulloch, MJennifer Wegbreit, Hyun Ju Woo, Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho;  LANCET COMMISSION ON MALARIA ERADICATION Malaria Eradication. Within a Generation: Ambitious, Achievable and Necessary. (2019). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31139-0. 

Lancet Webpage dedicated to the report here. 

Press Releases:
   It's 'Ambitious' — But Possible — to Eradicate Malaria by 2050, According to a Landmark Report
By Jamie Ducharme, Time Magazine, September 9, 2019

• Experts seek 2050 malaria eradication

By Kate Kelland, Weekly Times (Australia), September 9, 2019

• Malaria could be stamped out in 30 years – report

By  Press Association, September 9, 2019

• Lancet Commission to Press for 2050 Deadline for Malaria Eradication: Report

News 18 (India), September 9, 2019
Official Press release

• ​​http://malariaeradicationcommission.com/sites/default/files/press-release-lancet-commission-on-malaria-eradication.pdf.  Featured on MEI’s homepage.

List of all the press coverage here. pdf 

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CO2 modulates mosquitoes’ responses to small field rotating visual objects

(40) Vinauger, C., Van Breugel, F., Locke, L., Tobin, K., Dickinson, M., Fairhall, A., Akbari, O.S., Riffell, J., Visual-olfactory integration in the human disease vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti. (2019). Current Biology. DOI: :https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.043


Press Release(s):

• UW News (http://www.washington.edu/news/2019/07/18/mosquito-sensory-integration/).  PDF HERE
• Science Daily (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190718112528.htm​)

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GCaMP6s is a general tool to record calcium responses in multiple tissues in Ae. aegypti.

(39) Bui, M., Shyong, J., Lutz, E.K., Yang, T., Li, M., Truong, K., Arvidson,R., Buchman,A., Riffell, J.A.*,  Akbari, O.S.* Live calcium imaging of Aedes aegypti neuronal tissues reveals differential importance of chemosensory systems. (2019). BMC Neuroscience. 2019 Jun 17;20(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s12868-019-0511-y. PMID: 31208328​
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See gCamp in Action in Ae. aegypti: 
Supplemental Video 1 - Adult Mouthparts - Link 
Supplemental Video 2 - Adult Antennae - Link
Supplemental Video 3 -Adult Compound Eye - Link
Supplemental Video 4 - Whole Larvae - Link
Supplemental Video 5 - Larval Brain - Link

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Drive Through Genome Elimination

(38) Dalla Benetta, E., Akbari, O.S., Ferree, P.M., Sequence Expression from Supernumerary B Chromosomes: Function or Fluff? (2019). Genes, 10, 123; doi:10.3390/genes10020123

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Engineered resistance to Zika virus

(37) Buchman, A., Gamez, S., Li, M., Antoshechkin​, I., Lee, S.H., Wang, S.W., Chen, C.H., Klein, M.J., Duchemin, J.B. , Paradkar, P.N.*, Akbari, O.S.*, Engineered resistance to Zika virus (ZIKV) in transgenic Ae. aegypti expressing a polycistronic cluster of synthetic miRNAs. (2019). PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810771116
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Press Releases:

• https://www.csiro.au/en/News/News-releases/2019/mozzies-get-wings-clipped-spreading-Zika-virus

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Zygotic expression of CRISPR components ensures 100% penetrance

(36) Kandul, N.P,  Liu, J., Sanchez C., H.M.,Wu, S.L., Marshall, J.M.,  Akbari,O.S.*, Transforming Insect Population Control with Precision Guided Sterile Males with Demonstration in Flies. Nature Communications. volume 10, Article number: 84 (2019) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07964-7

Supplementary Information. pdf


Press Releases:

• New CRISPR-based technology developed to control pests with precision-guided genetics. 
• Precision-Guided Sterile Insect Technique. IGTRCN
• Broadcasted Live on Local TV in San Diego - NBC 7
• ​https://www.nbcsandiego.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Local-Researchers-Develop-Insect-Gene-Editing-Tool_San-Diego-504137652.html
• ​​https://www.goodfruit.com/genetic-control-for-spotted-wing-drosophila/

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2018

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AaegL5 assembly statistics, annotation, and chromatin accessibility analysis

(35) Benjamin J Matthews, Olga Dudchenko, Sarah Kingan, Sergey Koren, Igor Antoshechkin, Jacob E Crawford, William J Glassford, Margaret Herre, Seth N Redmond, Noah H Rose, Gareth D Weedall, Yang Wu, Sanjit S Batra, Carlos A Brito-Sierra, Steven D Buckingham, Corey L Campbell, Saki Chan, Eric Cox, Benjamin R Evans, Thanyalak Fansiri, Igor Filipovic, Albin Fontaine, Andrea Gloria-Soria, Richard Hall, Vinita S Joardar, Andrew K Jones, Raissa GG Kay, Vamsi Kodali, Joyce Lee, Gareth J Lycett, Sara N Mitchell, Jill Muehling, Michael R Murphy, Arina Omer, Frederick A Partridge, Paul Peluso, Aviva Presser Aiden, Vidya Ramasamy, Gordana Rasic, Sourav Roy, Karla Saavedra-Rodriguez, Shruti Sharan, Atashi Sharma, Melissa Smith, Joe Turner, Allison M Weakley, Zhilei Zhao, Omar S Akbari, William C Black, Han Cao, Alistair C Darby, Catherine Hill, J Spencer Johnston, Terence D Murphy, Alexander S Raikhel, David B Sattelle, Igor V Sharakhov, Bradley J White, Li Zhao, Erez Lieberman Aiden, Richard S Mann, Louis Lambrechts, Jeffrey R Powell, Maria V Sharakhova, Zhijian Tu, Hugh M Robertson, Carolyn S McBride, Alex R Hastie, Jonas Korlach, Daniel E Neafsey, Adam M Phillippy, Leslie B Vosshall. Improved reference genome of Aedes aegypti informs arbovirus vector control. Nature. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0692-z. pdf. 

Press Release(s):

• Newsline. Mosquito genome opens new avenues for reducing bug-borne disease.pdf

• Newsweek. NEW MOSQUITO GENES DISCOVERED THAT COULD EXPLAIN WHY SOME PEOPLE GET BITTEN MORE THAN OTHERS.

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Targeted transgene insertion on the D. melanogaster Y-chromosome.

(34) Buchman, A. and Akbari O.S.*, Site-specific transgenesis of the D. melanogaster Y-chromosome using CRISPR/Cas9. Insect Mol Biol. (2018) doi: 10.1111/imb.12528.  pdf

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Complex Genome Editing Examples

(33) Gantz V.M and Akbari, O.S.* Gene Editing Technologies and Applications for Insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2018.05.006. pdf

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Translocation dynamics in a linear, three population migration model.

(32) Buchman, A.B, Ivy, T., Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S.*, Hay B.A.* Engineered reciprocal chromosome translocations drive high threshold, reversible population replacement in Drosophila. ACS Synthetic Biology. (2018) doi: PMID: 29608276. DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.7b00451 . pdf

Supporting Information. pdf 

Press Release(s):

• www.igtrcn.org Engineered Translocation-based Underdominance Gene Drive​. pdf

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Taken from Andrew M. Hammond & Roberto Galizi (2018): Gene drives to fight malaria: current state and future directions, Pathogens and Global Health

(31) Robyn Raban and Omar S. Akbari*. Gene drives may be the next step towards sustainable control of malaria. (2018) Pathogens and Global Health. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20477724.2017.1453587. pdf
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Synthetically Engineered D. Suzukii Medea

(30) Buchman, A.B., Marshall, J.M, Ostrovski, D., Yang, T., Akbari O.S.*, Synthetically Engineered Medea Gene Drive System in the Worldwide Crop Pest, D. suzukii. (2018) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713139115. pdf


​Recommended in F1000Prime as being of special significance in its field. 

Supporting Information. pdf

Press Release(s):

• MIT Technology Review - Farmers seek to deploy powerful gene drive. pdf
• www.technlogyreview.de pdf  (in german)
• UCSD News Center - Researchers Develop First Gene Drive Targeting Worldwide Crop Pest. pdf 
• www.sciencemag.org - Can a genetic weapon combat one of the world’s major crop destroyers?. pdf
• www.kjzz.org - Researchers Turn to Gene Drive to Fight Destructive, Invasive Fruit Fly. pdf ;  MP3
• https://igtrcn.org/gene-drive-in-a-major-agricultural-pest/ - Gene Drive in a Major Agricultural Pest. pdf
• Todays Science - Driving Out Pests with Genetic Engineering. pdf
• Farming Is Headed Toward A Gene-Editing Revolution, And Hoping The Public Comes Along, Too
• Editing Out Pesticides​ - Nova PBS

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Confinement of Gene Drives

(29) Marshall, J.M*, Akbari, O.S.*, Can CRISPR-based gene drive be confined in the wild? A question for molecular and population biology. ACS Chemical Biology. 2018 Feb 7. doi: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00923. pdf. 

bioRxiv 173914; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/173914. pdf

Press Releases(s):

• https://igtrcn.org. Gene Drives and the Potential Benefits of CRISPR Technology. pdf

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Odour stimuli are learned and represented differentially in the mosquito brain

(28) Vinauger, C., Lahondère1, C., Wolff, G.H., Locke, L.T.,  Liaw, J.E., Parrish, J.Z., Akbari, O.S., Dickinson, M.H., Riffell, J.A., Dopamine modulation of host learning in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. (2018). Current Biology. doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.015. pdf

bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/172726. pdf

Insect Olfaction: Once Swatted, Twice Shy. Current Biology Dispatch. pdf

​
​Press Releases(s):

• www.sciencenews.org .Rough lessons can lessen the pull of human scent on a mosquito. pdf
• www.nytimes.com. Swatting at Mosquitoes May Help You Avoid Bites, Even if You Miss. pdf
• www.nationalgeographic.com. First-Ever Evidence That Mosquitoes Can Be Trained. pdf
• www.washington.edu. If you swat mosquitoes, they may learn to avoid your scent. pdf
• www.popsci.com. Mosquitoes learn not to mess with you when you swat them. pdf
• www.nature.com. How to teach mosquitoes to avoid temptation. pdf
• www.npr.com.  How To Teach Mosquitoes To Leave You Alone. pdf

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2017

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Ae. aegypti Double and Triple CRISPR mutants.

(27) Li M., Bui M., Yang T., White B.J., Akbari O.S.* Germline Cas9 Expression Yields Highly Efficient Genome Engineering in a Major Worldwide Disease Vector, Aedes aegypti. (2017). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) ; published ahead of print November 14, 2017, doi:10.1073/pnas.1711538114. pdf. 

Supporting Information. pdf 


PNAS Podcast.
Transcript PDF  
Listen Here  

Press Release(s):

• IGTRCN - High Knock in/out Rates in Aedes aegypti Expressing Cas9 from a Transgene. pdf
• UCR Today - Making Mosquitoes Self-Destruct - UCR researchers are generating genetically engineered insects to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. pdf
• www.wired.com  - This gene-editing tech might be too dangerous to unleash. pdf
• www.sciencenews.org - Current CRISPR gene drives are too strong for outdoor use, studies warn. pdf
• www.geneengnews.com - Cas9 Expression in Mosquito Germlines Could Help Prevent Disease Spread. pdf
• www.ibtimes.com - Yellow, Three-Eyed, Wingless Mosquitoes Created Using CRISPR Gene Editing Tool.pdf
• www.news-medical.net - CRISPR shows potential to reduce diseases spread by mosquitoes. pdf
• www.entomologytoday.com  - Another Step Forward in Genetic Engineering of Mosquitoes.pdf
• www.futurism.com - We Just Used Genetic Engineering to Create Completely Yellow, Three-Eyed, Wingless Mosquitoes
• ​​PNAS - In this Issue. Cas9-expressing mosquito strains pave the way toward gene drives. pdf

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Gene Drive

(26) Adelman, Z., Akbari, O.S., Bauer, J., Bier, E., Bloss, C., Carter, S., Callender, C., Costero-Saint Denis, A., Cowhey P., Dass, B., Delborne, J., Devereaux, M., Ellsworth, P., Gantz V., Gibson C., Hay B.A., Hoddle M., James A.A., James, S., Jorgenson, L., Kalichman M., Marshall J., McGinnis W., Newman J., Pearson A., Quemada H., Rudenko L., Shelton A., Vinetz J., Weisman, J., Wong B., Wozniak C., Rules of the road for insect gene drive research and testing. Nature Biotechnology. 2017 Aug 8;35(8):716-718. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3926. pdf

Press Release(s):

• IGTRCN: Guidance Sought by Gene Drive Researchers. pdf

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Dependence of population elimination probability on homing rate and resistant allele generation rate

(25) Marshall J.M.*, Buchman, A.B., Sanchez C. H.M., Akbari O.S.*, Overcoming evolved resistance to population-suppressing homing-based gene drives.  Scientific Reports. (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02744-7​. pdf 
​
 Supporting Information. pdf .  

​ bioRxiv. (2016) doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/088427. pdf

Press Release(s)

• Halting Mosquitoes on Continental Scale. pdf 
• ​TheScientist-Researchers Propose Solution to Gene Drive Technology Problem. pdf  
• New gene-editing technique could drive out mosquito borne disease. pdf
• UC Berkeley Press release. pdf 
  
• www.geneengnews.com. pdf
  
• ​​www.TheGuardian.ng.pdf

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First CRISPR mutants in three worldwide Malaria vectors

(24) Li M., Akbari O.S., White B.J., Highly efficient site-specific mutagenesis in Malaria mosquitoes using CRISPR. (2017). G3 (Bethesda). 2017 Dec 12. pii: g3.1134.2017. doi: 10.1534/g3.117.1134. pdf

Supporting Information. pdf

bioRxiv. pdf.

Press Release(s):

• www.IGTRCN.com. A Protocol for the Highly Efficient Generation of Stable Mosquito Knockout Lines Using CRISPR/Cas9. pdf

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Flowchart for creation of CRISPR mutants in N. vitripennis

(23) Li, M., Bui, M., Akbari, O.S.*, Embryo microinjection and transplantation technique for genome manipulation of Nasonia vitripennis. J. Vis. Exp., e56990, doi:10.3791/56990 (2017). pdf

​Link to video here

Press Release(s):

• JoVE Monthly Highlights December 2017 Video.  pdf

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Schematic of Nasonia vitripennis embryo collection and CRISPR/Cas9 microinjections.

(22) Li, M., Cook, L.U.,  Douglah, D., Chong, A., White, B.J., Ferree, P.M*, Akbari, O.S.*, Generation of heritable germline mutations in the jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis using CRISPR/Cas9. Scientific Reports, Article number 901 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-00990-3. pdf

Supporting Information. pdf 

bioRxiv Version here. pdf

Press Release(s) - Over 30 News Articles on this paper here are a few:

• IGTRCN "Nasonia Genome Editing." pdf
• UCR Today "Researchers Create Red-eyed Mutant Wasps." pdf
• Gizmodo "Scientists Are Making Horrible Red-Eye Mutant Wasps Because Why the Hell Not." pdf
• UPI "Scientists engineer red-eyed mutant wasps." pdf
• Yahoo Tech. pdf
• ​SCI News. pdf
• www.iflscience.com. pdf
• Technology Review pdf

​
​Radio/Video
BBC World Service Radio Interview - Listen Here
Youtube Video

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PSR specific small RNAs

(21) Li1, Y., Jing, X.A., Aldrich, J.C., Chen, J., Akbari, O.S., Ferree, P.M.* Unique sequence organization and small RNA expression of a ‘selfish’ B chromosome. (2017). Chromosoma.  Aug 5. doi: 10.1007/s00412-017-0641-x. pdf

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2016

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Multiplexed in situ hybridization chain reaction (HCR)

(20) H.M.T. Choi, C.R. Calvert, N. Husain, D. Huss, J.C. Barsi, B.E. Deverman, R.C. Hunter, M. Kato, S.M. Lee, A.C.T. Abelin, A.Z. Rosenthal, O.S. Akbari, Y. Li, B.A. Hay, P.W. Sternberg, P.H. Patterson, E.H. Davidson, S.K. Mazmanian, D.A. Prober, M. van de Rijn, J.R. Leadbetter, D.K. Newman, C. Readhead, M.E. Bronner, B. Wold, R. Lansford, T. Sauka-Spengler, S.E. Fraser, N.A. Pierce. Mapping a multiplexed zoo of mRNA expression. Development, (2016) 143, 3632-3637 doi:10.1242/dev.140137 . pdf

Press Releases(s):

• Foundational Paper for a New Biotechnology Company: https://www.molecularinstruments.com

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A Spiroplasma-infected male embryo exhibiting male-killing phenotypes. Blue labels are DNA, green labels are neurons. By P.M. Ferree.

(19) Cheng B, Kuppanda N, Aldrich JC, Akbari OS*, Ferree PM*. Male-Killing Spiroplasma Alters Behavior of the Dosage Compensation Complex during Drosophila melanogaster Embryogenesis.  Current Biology 2016 May 23;26(10):1339-45. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.050. Epub 2016 May 5. PMID: 27161498. pdf

     Primer Article
     Host–Symbiont Interactions: Male-Killers Exposed. pdf

​     Press Release(s):

•      Exploiting Male-Killing Bacteria to Control Insects. pdf

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The NRY of An. gambiae mainly consists of massively amplified tandem arrays of a small number of satellites and TEs

(18) Hall AB, Papathanos PA, Sharma A, Cheng C, Akbari OS, Assour L, Bergman NH, Cagnetti A, Crisanti A, Dottorini T, Fiorentini E, Galizi R, Hnath J, Jiang X, Koren S, Nolan T, Radune D, Sharakhova MV, Steele A, Timoshevskiy VA, Windbichler N, Zhang S, Hahn MW, Phillippy AM, Emrich SJ, Sharakhov IV, Tu ZJ, Besansky NJ. Radical remodeling of the Y chromosome in a recent radiation of malaria mosquitoes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Apr 12;113(15):E2114-23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1525164113. Epub 2016 Mar 29. PMID: 27035980. pdf
​

     Press Release(s)

•      Scientists Unlock Genetic Secret that Could Help Fight Malaria. pdf

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We got the Cover!

(17) Champer J, Buchman A, Akbari OS*. Cheating evolution: engineering gene drives to manipulate the fate of wild populations. Nature Review Genetics. 2016 Mar;17(3):146-59. doi: 10.1038/nrg.2015.34. Epub 2016 Feb 15. Review. PMID: 26875679. pdf

     Primer Article
     Genetically-modified insects to combat vector-borne diseases — curtain rise or fall? pdf

     Press Release(s):

• Engineered Gene Drives and the Future. pdf
•  Insect Gene Drives – Reviewed and Compared. pdf
• PBS NOVA - For Gene Drives, Resistance May Be Inevitable

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2015

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Cover

(16) Marshall, J.M., Akbari, O.S., Chapter 9 - Gene Drive Strategies for Population Replacement. Pages 169-200 pdf  In book Genetic Control of Malaria and Dengue, 1st Edition, Zach Adelman. 2015. ISBN: 978-0-12-800246-9. pdf. 

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We got the Cover! Nasonia Vitripennis - by Omar Akbari

(15) Ferree PM*, Fang C, Mastrodimos M, Hay BA, Amrhein H, Akbari OS*. Identification of Genes Uniquely Expressed in the Germ-Line Tissues of the Jewel Wasp Nasonia vitripennis. G3 (Bethesda). 2015 Oct 13;5(12):2647-53. doi: 10.1534/g3.115.021386.PMID: 26464360. Free PMC Article. pdf
     Supplemental Information

     Press Release(s):

•      Entomologist’s Jewel Wasp Gene Research Published. pdf

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The spread of RNA-guided gene drive systems. Unlike the population dynamics of normal genomic alterations, gene drive systems can spread changes through wild populations by converting heterozygotes into homozygotes in each generation.

:(14) Akbari OS, Bellen HJ, Bier E, Bullock SL, Burt A, Church GM, Cook KR, Duchek P, Edwards OR, Esvelt KM, Gantz VM, Golic KG, Gratz SJ, Harrison MM, Hayes KR, James AA, Kaufman TC, Knoblich J, Malik HS, Matthews KA, O'Connor-Giles KM, Parks AL, Perrimon N, Port F, Russell S, Ueda R, Wildonger J. Safeguarding gene drive experiments in the laboratory. Science. 2015 Aug 28;349(6251):927-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7932. Epub 2015 Jul 30. PMID: 26229113. pdf

     Press Release(s):  

•      Gene drive research: Safeguarding the greater good. pdf​

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Antibody bound to the egg zona pellucida (indicated in blue), a binding site for sperm, results in infertility - By Bruce Hay

(13) Li J, Olvera AI, Akbari OS, Moradian A, Sweredoski MJ, Hess S, Hay BA. Vectored antibody gene delivery mediates long-term contraception. Current Biology. 2015 Oct 5;25(19):R820-2. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.002. PMID: 26439332. pdf
    Supplemental Information

     Press Release(s):

•      Long-term contraception in a single shot. pdf

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2014

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Fluorescent analysis of regulatory regions in Aedes aegypti.

(12) Akbari OS, Papathanos PA, Sandler JE, Kennedy K, Hay BA. Identification of germline transcriptional regulatory elements in Aedes aegypti. Scientific Reports. 2014 Feb 4;4:3954. doi: 10.1038/srep03954. PMID: 24492376. pdf

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Cover

(11) Philippos A. Papathanos, Nikolai Windbichler and Omar S. Akbari. Sex Ratio Manipulation for Insect Population Control. Chapter 6. 2014.Page no: 83. pdf  Transgenic Insects: Techniques and Applications. Mark Q. Benedict. 2014. 

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Model for initial alteration of the paternal genome by PSR as suggested by testis transcriptome profiling

(10) ​Akbari OS*, Antoshechkin I, Hay BA, Ferree PM*. Transcriptome profiling of Nasonia vitripennis testis reveals novel transcripts expressed from the selfish B chromosome, paternal sex ratio. G3 (Bethesda). 2013 Sep 4;3(9):1597-605. dos: 10.1534/g3.113.007583. PMID: 23893741. pdf ,  Supplemental Data
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Medea genetics, molecular basis of synthetic elements, and cycles of population replacement

(9) Akbari OS, Chen CH, Marshall JM, Huang H, Antoshechkin I, Hay BA. Novel synthetic Medea selfish genetic elements drive population replacement in Drosophila; a theoretical exploration of Medea-dependent population suppression. ACS Synthetic Biology. 2014 Dec 19;3(12):915-28. doi: 10.1021/sb300079h. Epub 2012 Dec 28. PMID: 23654248. pdf

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2013

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Global dynamics of gene expression in Aedes aegypti.

(8) Akbari OS, Antoshechkin I, Amrhein H, Williams B, Diloreto R, Sandler J, Hay BA. The developmental transcriptome of the mosquito Aedes aegypti, an invasive species and major arbovirus vector. G3 (Bethesda). 2013 Sep 4;3(9):1493-509. doi: 10.1534/g3.113.006742. PMID: 23833213. pdf
    
     Supplemental Information
     Online resource. www.vector.caltech.edu
     Raw Data can be found at NCBI, Accession: PRJNA209388, Bioproject: 209388
​

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Schematic of the UDMEL Drive System and Illustration of How UDMEL Rewires Developmental Gene Expression

(7) Akbari OS, Matzen KD, Marshall JM, Huang H, Ward CM, Hay BA. A synthetic gene drive system for local, reversible modification and suppression of insect populations. Current Biology. 2013 Apr 22;23(8):671-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.02.059. Epub 2013 Mar 28. PMID: 23541732. pdf
​       Supplemental Information
       Primer Article

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2011

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P element insertion into the endogenous PTE results in homeotic transformation and loss of Abd-B expression.

(6) Ho MC, Schiller BJ, Akbari OS, Bae E, Drewell RA. Disruption of the abdominal-B promoter tethering element results in a loss of long-range enhancer-directed Hox gene expression in Drosophila. PLoS One. 2011 Jan 21;6(1):e16283. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016283. Erratum in: PLoS One. 2011;6(2). doi: 10.1371/annotation/613079ca-aeae-4d29-bc5c-aa7202e6993e.  PMID: 21283702. pdf

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2010

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Drosophila Polytene Chromosomes by Omar Akbari

(5) Oliver D, Sheehan B, South H, Akbari OS, Pai CY. The chromosomal association/dissociation of the chromatin insulator protein Cp190 of Drosophila melanogaster is mediated by the BTB/POZ domain and two acidic regions. BMC Cell Biology. 2010 Dec 31;11:101. doi: 10.1186/1471-2121-11-101. PMID: 21194420. pdf

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2009

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The Entry/Gateway® cloning procedures for generating epitope-tagged fusion proteins using the P-element destination vectors

(4) Akbari OS, Oliver D, Eyer K, Pai CY. An Entry/Gateway cloning system for general expression of genes with molecular tags in Drosophila melanogaster. BMC Cell Biology. 2009 Jan 29;10:8. doi: 10.1186/1471-2121-10-8. PMID: 19178707. pdf

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2008

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Molecular organization of cis-regulatory sequences at the Drosophila bithorax complex

(3) Akbari OS, Bae E, Johnsen H, Villaluz A, Wong D, Drewell RA. A novel promoter-tethering element regulates enhancer-driven gene expression at the bithorax complex in the Drosophila embryo. Development. 2008 Jan;135(1):123-31. Epub 2007 Nov 28. PMID: 18045839. pdf

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2007

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Promoter tethering element regulates long-range promoter-enhancer interactions.

(2) Akbari OS, Schiller BJ, Goetz SE, Ho MC, Bae E, Drewell RA. The abdominal-B promoter tethering element mediates promoter-enhancer specificity at the Drosophila bithorax complex. Fly (Austin). 2007 Nov-Dec;1(6):337-9. PMID: 18504507. pdf

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2006

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An extensive array of cis-regulatory elements direct embryonic expression of the BX-C homeotic genes.

(1) Akbari OS, Bousum A, Bae E, Drewell RA. Unraveling cis-regulatory mechanisms at the abdominal-A and Abdominal-B genes in the Drosophila bithorax complex. Developmental Biology. 2006 May 15;293(2):294-304. Epub 2006 Mar 20. Review. pdf

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*Publications listing also available here via PubMed

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