Seite - 84 - in Critical Issues in Science, Technology and Society Studies - Conference Proceedings of the 17th STS Conference Graz 2018

management. The creation of low risk development paths should therefore be an important element in prospective and precautionary risk management. It is not yet possible to make reliable statements about the effectiveness of options for limiting or reversing the changes caused by gene drives. Different measures for the inhibition of their spread as well as for the inactivation of the induced functionalities have already been proposed and also a first experiment in yeast to inactivate a CRISPR/Cas-based drive has been performed (Esvelt et al. 2014; DiCarlo et al. 2015). However, a proof of their efficacy when used in insects or other higher organisms has not yet been established. In addition, there is still no possibility for the complete restoration of the natural gene sequence after the spread of homing endonuclease- based gene drives. The development of gene drives has shown considerable progress in recent years. Financed by private investments and public funds, an increasing number of research groups are working on gene drives. Already in 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a „Guidance framework for testing of genetically modified Mosquitoes” (WHO/TDR and FNIH 2014) and observes the development of improved drive systems with favorable consideration1. Among public investments the gene drive-budget of the DARPA (US-Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is remarkable: 100 Mio USD shall be invested. According to DARPA the lion`s share is dedicated to the investigation of consequences of gene drive-application and effective countermeasures2. The largest private funding is dedicated to support the fight against malaria. „Target Malaria“ is mainly financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates-Foundation and the „Open Philanthropy Project“. In 2016, the Gates-Foundation raised the budget of the Target Malaria-program from 40 to 75 Mio USD3. Moreover, the Gates-Foundation is also involved in lobbying for the application of gene drives. In 2017, it became known that the foundation invested 1.6 Mio USD for lobbying in the course of an expert consultation of the Convention on Biological Diversity4. Besides these investors, the Indian industry holding TATA invested in research for gene drives (Cp. Courtier‐Orgogozo, Morizot, and Boëte 2017a) and Alphabet (former known as Google) is interested in using Wolbachia-bacteria to suppress populations of disease transmitting insects5. Potential Ecological Effects For an investigation of the directly and indirectly affected ecological interactions the number of ecosystem processes that depend on gene drive-bearing species is of central importance. The species directly affected by the gene drive has to be investigated with regard to its role in the ecosystem. For instance the ‘target’ species can be a resource, a consumer or an ecosystem engineer. It may play a role in information processing and it could also compete with other 1 Cp. https://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14191%3Athe-road-to- malaria-eradication-update-2018&catid=6601%3Acase-studies&Itemid=40275&lang=en [accessed June 27, 2018] 2 Cp. https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/12/darpa-invests-100-million-in-gene-drive-technology/ [accessed June 27, 2018] 3 Cp. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602304/bill-gates-doubles-his-bet-on-wiping-out-mosquitoes-with- gene-editing/ [accessed June 27, 2018] 4 Cp. http://genedrivefiles.synbiowatch.org [accessed June 27, 2018] 5 Cp. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602470/alphabets-latest-project-is-birth-control-for-mosquitoes/ [accessed June 27, 2018] 84