Destructive reign of the grey squirrel may be over – thanks to DNA editing
They have been poisoned, shot at and stumbled into traps laid by those who regard them as a ruinous blight on the country’s woodland and wildlife. But now the grey squirrel is facing arguably its biggest threat yet, with plans to harness the cutting edge of genetic science to bring their destructive reign to an end.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute say it is possible to cull the mammals by editing their DNA to ensure that, in the future, females are born infertile.
The institute, famous for creating Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first mammal cloned from an adult cell, hopes to create gene-edited male squirrels that can be released into the wild.
They would be altered to contain a so-called“gene drive” designed to spread throughout the population and render all females who inherit it sterile.
The project, which is partfunded by the European Squirrel Initiative, a charity that promotes research into the conservation of red squirrels, would also have implications
for efforts to rid Britain of other invasive species, such as mink, muntjac deer and ringnecked parakeets.
The team at the Roslin Institute point to the fact that the grey squirrel is a carrier of squirrel pox, which is lethal to reds.
Professor Bruce Whitelaw, the institute’s genus personal chair of animal biotechnology, is spearheading the project.
“A potential application of gene drives is to control invasive vertebrate pests, such as cane toads and rabbits in Australia, grey squirrels in the UK, possums in New Zealand and rodents around the globe,” he explained in a journal article co-written with Gus Mcfarlane, a fellow researcher.
They have asked a team of genome engineers, population modellers, ecologists, ethicists and conservation experts to design gene drives as a “potential tool” to eradicate grey squirrels.
Andrew Kendall, a spokesman for the European Squirrel Initiative, said: “The aim would be to create a few thousand gene-edited greys and then release them so the gene spreads, slowly wiping the species out in the UK. We want to reverse the invasion.”
But Jennifer White, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said: “People accept that genetically engineering humans is morally unconscionable and doing the same to squirrels using gene-drive technology is just as reprehensible.
“It won’t solve our ecological problems but will lead to misery for intelligent, sensitive beings.”
Grey squirrels are native to North America and were first released into the UK in 1876.
They have increasingly outcompeted red squirrels due to their prolific breeding cycle and the fact that they carry the squirrel pox virus.
This has led to fears that red squirrels could be wiped out in Scotland.
“The aim would be to create a few thousand gene-edited greys and then release them so the gene spreads ... We want to reverse the invasion”
ANDREW KENDALL