Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Jan;13(1):58-64.
doi: 10.1038/nrmicro3405. Epub 2014 Dec 8.

Gain-of-function experiments: time for a real debate

W Paul Duprex  1 , Ron A M Fouchier  2 , Michael J Imperiale  3 , Marc Lipsitch  4 , David A Relman  5
Affiliations
Review

Gain-of-function experiments: time for a real debate

W Paul Duprex et al. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2015 Jan.

Abstract

According to the WHO, dual use research of concern (DURC) is "life sciences research that is intended for benefit, but which might easily be misapplied to do harm". Recent studies, particularly those on influenza viruses, have led to renewed attention on DURC, as there is an ongoing debate over whether the benefits of gain-of-function (GOF) experiments that result in an increase in the transmission and/or pathogenicity of potential pandemic pathogens (PPPs) are outweighed by concerns over biosecurity and biosafety. In this Viewpoint article, proponents and opponents of GOF experiments discuss the benefits and risks associated with these studies, as well as the implications of the current debate for the scientific community and the general public, and suggest how the current discussion should move forward.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

W.P.D., M.J.I. and D.A.R. declare no competing interests. R.A.M.F. receives research support for gain-of-function research from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the European Union. M.L. receives research funding for pneumococcal vaccine modelling projects from PATH Vaccine Solutions and Pfizer.

References

    1. Imai M, et al. Experimental adaptation of an influenza H5 HA confers respiratory droplet transmission to a reassortant H5 HA/H1N1 virus in ferrets. Nature. 2012;486:420–428. doi: 10.1038/nature10831. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Herfst S, et al. Airborne transmission of influenza A/H5N1 virus between ferrets. Science. 2012;336:1534–1541. doi: 10.1126/science.1213362. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Langlois RA, et al. MicroRNA-based strategy to mitigate the risk of gain-of-function influenza studies. Nature Biotechnol. 2013;31:844–847. doi: 10.1038/nbt.2666. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lipsitch M, Galvani AP. Ethical alternatives to experiments with novel potential pandemic pathogens. PLoS Med. 2014;11:e1001646. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001646. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lipsitch M. Can limited scientific value of potential pandemic pathogen experiments justify the risks? MBio. 2014;5:5. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources