MGDrivE 2

MGDrivE 2 simulates gene drive systems in mosquito populations to model ecological and epidemiological dynamics, including seasonal variation, spatial spread, and impacts on human-mosquito pathogen transmission.

Key Features:

• Seasonal Dynamics: Time-varying parameters respond to environmental data such as temperature and rainfall to simulate seasonal patterns in mosquito population density.
• Epidemiological Module: Models reciprocal pathogen transmission between humans and mosquitoes to link gene drive dynamics to disease transmission.
• Stochastic Petri Nets Framework: Implements models using stochastic Petri nets, supporting both deterministic and stochastic interpretations.
• Spatially-Explicit Simulations: Enables spatially-explicit modeling of gene drive spread through mosquito populations.
• CRISPR-Based Homing Gene Drive Systems: Includes simulations of CRISPR-based homing drives to model the spread of disease-refractory genes in mosquito populations.
• Continuous-Time Simulation and Sampling: Employs a continuous-time simulation approach with various sampling algorithms for temporal dynamics.

Scientific Applications:

• Evaluation for Field Trials: Supports evaluation of gene drive constructs as they approach field application by modeling expected ecological and epidemiological outcomes.
• Prediction of Epidemiological Impact: Predicts impacts on human disease incidence and prevalence through coupled human-mosquito transmission models.
• Entomological Outcome Modeling: Informs expected entomological outcomes that may be measured in initial field trials.
• Spatial Spread Assessment: Assesses how gene drives may disseminate in real-world environments via spatially-explicit simulations.

Methodology:

Continuous-time simulation approach with various sampling algorithms; implementation via stochastic Petri nets supporting deterministic and stochastic formulations; time-varying parameters driven by environmental data (temperature, rainfall); epidemiological module modeling reciprocal pathogen transmission between humans and mosquitoes; spatially-explicit modeling of gene drive spread.