A number of years in the past, as nightfall descended in Victoria’s Great Otway National Park, I left my campsite, torch on the prepared.
I used to be looking out for little marsupials rising to start out their night-time foraging.
Instead, I used to be confronted with the glowing eyes of a feral cat amongst the ferns.
We have been in all probability out searching for the identical factor.
The influence of feral cats and different invasive species is felt throughout Australia. Not solely do they threaten native species, however they’ll additionally unfold ailments to people and livestock.
Invasive species are estimated to cost Australia an eye-watering $25 billion {dollars} yearly, whereas the worldwide cost is a staggering $423 billion.
One species persistently tops the record as “Australia’s worst”: feral cats.
Feral cats are in every single place — the nation is home to as much as 6.3 million of them, and they’re chargeable for killing thousands and thousands of native mammals, reptiles, and birds every day.
Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek just lately declared “warfare on feral cats”, asserting plans involving cat curfews, desexing rules, and caps on cat numbers in properties.
But what can we do concerning the thousands and thousands of feral cats already wreaking havoc throughout Australia? And what about different pests similar to foxes, rabbits, cane toads, carp, pigs, deer, or goats?
One method with the potential to assist struggle not simply cats however all invasive species known as a “gene drive”.
What is a gene drive?
All dwelling organisms retailer genetic data of their cells as lengthy strands of DNA. Sections of those strands are referred to as genes, which give rise to completely different traits, similar to eye color.
Like most animals, cats have two copies of every gene: one inherited from every father or mother. This signifies that usually, a cat will move one gene copy onto half of their kitten offspring.
But a gene drive doesn’t observe traditional inheritance guidelines.
A gene drive is a gene or assortment of genes that quickly unfold from one era to a different.
Even if just one father or mother has a gene drive, they’ll move it on to greater than half of their offspring, and in some circumstances, to all of them.
It’s why gene drives are typically referred to as “egocentric”.
Gene drives are present in nature — researchers on the University of Adelaide are investigating a naturally occurring mouse gene drive to unfold infertility to feminine mice.
But they may also be created within the lab utilizing CRISPR gene-editing expertise
Lab-developed gene drives could be designed to do various things.
A gene drive to cut back the variety of mosquitoes that transmit malaria has been developed, and in 2019, mice grew to become the primary mammal to be engineered to comprise a gene drive of their DNA.
Since then, no different gene-drive mammals, together with cats, have been produced.
But if a gene drive for feral cats was developed, it might contain spreading a gene by means of the inhabitants that renders females infertile, or tailor-made so solely male offspring are born.
Over time, the feral cat inhabitants would drop, then crash.
What’s the danger to native wildlife?
Gene drives could be restricted to a goal species, similar to cats, with out the prospect of spreading to Australian wildlife.
That’s as a result of gene drives are handed down from father or mother to offspring.
Most of Australia’s invasive species can not interbreed or produce offspring with native wildlife, which implies almost all invasive species in Australia may very well be managed utilizing gene drives.
The exception is wild dogs, which may breed with dingoes.
