Imperial College demonstrates doublesex gene drive achieves complete population collapse in cage trials

Scientists at Imperial College London — funded primarily by the Gates Foundation through Target Malaria — published results demonstrating that a 'doublesex' CRISPR gene drive strain of Anopheles gambiae achieved complete population collapse in large cage trials within 7–11 generations, with no emergence of resistance. The doublesex gene disrupts a gene required for female development, producing non-biting intersex offspring. Unlike earlier gene drives, resistance did not arise because the target gene is highly conserved across mosquito populations. The results, published in Nature Biotechnology, were considered a pivotal breakthrough in the gene drive field.