New study finds dormant seeds can slow spread and complicate plant-based gene drive strategies.
Gene drives, a genetic engineering approach designed to rapidly spread specific traits through a population, have been floated as a potential tool for weed control. But most work to date has focused on insects, especially mosquitoes, and no gene drive has been deployed in the real world.
A recent Cornell University news release details how have taken a closer look at what happens when that concept moves into plants. Their conclusion is straightforward and disruptive. Seed banks, the reservoirs of dormant seeds sitting in soil for years or even decades, could fundamentally alter how gene drives behave.
The Hidden Variable Beneath the Soil
In what researchers describe as a first-of-its-kind modeling study, the team simulated how gene drives would spread through plant populations over time. The results point to a factor that plant scientists know well but gene drive discussions have largely overlooked.
Seed banks do not just sit quietly. They continually reintroduce non-modified plants back into the system. That steady re-entry slows the spread of engineered traits and, in some cases, could prevent a gene drive from ever fully taking hold.
Modeling work like this gives researchers a way to test those dynamics before anything ever reaches the field. It also forces a more realistic view of how plant systems behave compared to animal systems.
Two Systems, Same Constraint
The study evaluated two emerging gene drive systems in plants, known as CAIN and ClvR. Both are designed to pass engineered traits reliably to the next generation by disrupting reproductive pathways.
“Gene drives have been suggested as an alternative control measure for weeds, but their feasibility in plant species had never been demonstrated experimentally before CAIN and ClvR,” Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) associate professor of computational biology Jaehee Kim said in the release.
The simulations showed both systems can spread through a population. But the timeline shifts depending on how long seeds persist underground. The longer seeds remain viable, the slower the engineered trait moves. In practical terms, that means more starting material, more engineered plants or seeds, may be required to overcome what is already in the soil.
Risk and Restraint in the Same System
The same factor that complicates gene drives may also make them safer.
Seed banks can act as what researchers describe as an evolutionary buffer. By reintroducing non-engineered plants, they can weaken or even collapse a gene drive if it moves into an unintended population.
“Even if it got accidentally released, or there was spillover to an unwanted population, a seed bank can cause it to die out naturally,” Kim says. “It acts as a natural biosafety measure.”
That dual role, both barrier and safeguard, adds a layer of complexity to how the technology will be evaluated moving forward.
From Theory to Field Reality
The work builds on advances made possible by CRISPR-based gene editing, which has brought gene drives from theory closer to practical application. Still, researchers emphasize that major questions remain around ecological impact and real-world deployment.
“People have been thinking about gene drives for decades, but it was always kind of this science fiction technology,” says Philipp Messer, CALS professor of computational biology. “With the advent of CRISPR technology, this has all changed, and the engineering of gene drives has finally come within reach.”
For now, the study offers a foundation rather than a roadmap. It gives plant scientists a clearer picture of what they are up against and where design strategies may need to adjust.
“People thought that gene drives in plants really wouldn’t work that well,” Messer says. “But after this modeling study, I think plants may actually be one of the better systems to try out a gene drive.”
