GMOs: pervasive and high-risk. Esvelt KM, Smidler AL, Catteruccia F, Church GM. There is some speculation that large amounts of these insects escaped with “biologically engineered/altered strains” of Lyme disease that is now matching those seen in the newer cases in the US. Experimental releases could be carried out over a period of several years to increase frequencies of GE mice as needed. Although human studies on the health effects of genetically modified organisms (GMO), also referred to as GM foods, are lacking at present, … Residents said they’d ideally want the white-footed mice to be resistant to both Lyme disease and ticks. Under FDA’s draft guidance for industry no.187, revised in January 2017, the agency regulates “intentionally altered genomic DNA in animals,” including the use of CRISPR, under the process for evaluating “new animal drugs” (e.g., www.fda.gov). For example, the lab-reared GE white-footed mice might not be able to compete well with resident wild mice for resources, territories, and mating opportunities. 2003), but masked shrews (Sorex cinereus), short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda), and chipmunks (Tamias striatus) also can function as reservoir species (table 2; Telford et al. In an effort to encourage transparency and public oversight, the Mice Against Ticks project involves public meetings, media attention, and local steering committees that can recommend terminating the project on their island (Buchthal et al. White-footed mice typically survive for less than 1 year; females have about two litters per year, with three or four pups per litter (Spielman et al. Is it some attempt to reduce the population, an experiment, or simply a new tactic for drug companies to introduce some expensive cure at a later date? To my knowledge, this would be the first application of genetic engineering for the intentional, uncontained release of a wild mammal in the United States or elsewhere. 2019). Ostfeld RS, Canham CD, Oggenfuss K, Winchcombe RJ, Keesing F. Ostfeld RS, Taal L, Keesing F, Oggenfuss K, Canham CD. If the native mouse lines used for rearing the GE lineages already include high levels of genetic diversity, severe bottlenecks and genetic drift can be minimized, depending on methods used for creating and maintaining these lineages. “If this works and we can actually modify mice so they are no longer reservoirs for Lyme disease in this model system we have in our own backyard,” Telford said. It can rob it's victims of memory, concentration, sleep and vision. Commendably, many peer-reviewed papers and public workshops have focused on ethical implications of genetically engineering wild species and the importance of communication with members of affected societies (e.g., Kofler et al. The research team also plans to initiate baseline ecological studies at all islands where GE mice would be released. According to researchers, it’s the biggest carrier of Lyme disease on the island making it a prime opportunity for experimenting with new techniques to reduce transmission to humans. In summary, a combination of scientific literature review, new studies to address research gaps, and the application of formal risk assessment protocols can be used to examine this case study from an environmental standpoint. Lyme disease is a significant problem for residents of Nantucket: The island had the highest rate of Lyme of any county in the US from 1992 to 2001, and finished in third place from 2002 to 2006, according to government data. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Phylogeography and systematics of insular white-footed mice (, PhD Dissertation, Northeastern University, Conspicuous impacts of inconspicuous hosts on the Lyme disease epidemic, Promise and perils of gene drives: Navigating the communication of complex, post-normal science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mice Against Ticks: An experimental community-guided effort to prevent tick-borne disease by altering the shared environment, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Territorial behavior and populations of some small mammals in southern Michigan. Also, several of the team's grant proposals and community presentations are available online at www.responsivescience.org/mice-against-ticks. and other nut-producing trees that sustain rodents and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), effects of predators such as red fox (Vulpes vulpes), coyote (Canus latrans), and bobcat (Lynx rufus) on small mammal populations, and local densities of deer, which are a major host for adult ticks but do not function as reservoir species (e.g., Ostfeld et al. Experiments carried out under seminatural conditions will be helpful for identifying possible fitness differences between GE and non-GE mice, although the full range of such outcomes may not be evident in small-scale, short-term studies. In contrast to current transgenic crops or farm-raised transgenic fish, some future GE applications will focus on wild or feral species that will be able to reproduce and disperse freely in the environment. If the MIT–Tufts team also develops an antitick cassette to prevent ticks from taking a blood meal from white-footed mice, corresponding research questions also should be evaluated. If the community were to support releasing the genetically-engineered mice into the wild, it would theoretically break the transmission cycle of the disease further down the food chain from the deer. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide, This PDF is available to Subscribers Only. For the purpose of this review, I assume that it is possible to use genome editing to engineer white-footed mice with resistance to the Lyme spirochete. 2) Many Lyme and Gulf War Illness patients are infected with the same genetically engineered organism (mycoplasma fermentens) created and patented by the US Government. On the basis of my informal inquiries, federal agencies appear to be waiting for a concrete application to be submitted before they are able to identify which regulations and procedures would apply. 2019). Here, I examine a case study involving the white-footed mouse (Figure 1) in the context of broader questions regarding risk assessment for free-living GE vertebrates. In addition, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife may require that the genetic uniqueness of island populations on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard be preserved (personal communication, Thomas French, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, 18 February 2019). However, some appear to have a better immune system than others (especially those of certain ages) and are able to rid themselves of the disease with little or no treatment. (b) Predators and competitors within the vertebrate host community, focusing on chipmunks, white-footed mice, and shrews, which serve as reservoir hosts for the Lyme spirochete (table 2). The number of reported cases has risen from around 10,000 in 1992, to more than 27,000 in 2007 (in the United States). And Dr. Tim Lepore, a surgeon at a Nantucket hospital who has been seeing patients with Lyme since the ’80s, estimates that many more are infected than the … 2019). The reason some believe Lyme disease escaped Plum Island is because the island is located just a few miles off the coast of Lyme, Connecticut, which is where the first outbreak of Lyme was observed in 1975. Ideally, the introduced Lyme-resistant mice would be very similar to local white-footed mice in terms of their genetic diversity, physiological ecology, behavior, fitness, population dynamics, and ecological interactions in local habitats. Champer J, Liu J, Oh SY, Reeves R, Luthra A, Oakes N, Clark AG, Messer PW. 2019). A Drug Maker Halo For a Covid Vaccine? Fikrig E, Telford SRIII, Barthold SW, Kantor FS, Spielman A, Flavell RA. The first is that Lyme disease originated on Plum Island, and by "originated" we could only mean "a genetically modified single celled organism" and not born or created.