diff --git a/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/mima-filters/1.5.0.backwards.excludes/fill_sequence_number_gaps.excludes b/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/mima-filters/1.5.0.backwards.excludes/fill_sequence_number_gaps.excludes
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2bac2209f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/mima-filters/1.5.0.backwards.excludes/fill_sequence_number_gaps.excludes
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# adding fill_sequence_number_gaps to ConsumerEventInit
+ProblemFilters.exclude[Problem]("akka.projection.grpc.internal.proto.*")
diff --git a/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/protobuf/akka/projection/grpc/event_consumer.proto b/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/protobuf/akka/projection/grpc/event_consumer.proto
index 9b1a0b5ae..27f2d564a 100644
--- a/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/protobuf/akka/projection/grpc/event_consumer.proto
+++ b/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/protobuf/akka/projection/grpc/event_consumer.proto
@@ -53,6 +53,8 @@ message ConsumerEventInit {
   string origin_id = 1;
   // the stream id of the type of entity the producer wants to push
   string stream_id = 2;
+  // if gaps in sequence numbers may exist and should be filled in
+  bool fill_sequence_number_gaps = 3;
 }
 
 message ConsumerEventStart {
diff --git a/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/scala/akka/projection/grpc/internal/EventPusherConsumerServiceImpl.scala b/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/scala/akka/projection/grpc/internal/EventPusherConsumerServiceImpl.scala
index 0c023a177..435ee2ad1 100644
--- a/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/scala/akka/projection/grpc/internal/EventPusherConsumerServiceImpl.scala
+++ b/akka-projection-grpc/src/main/scala/akka/projection/grpc/internal/EventPusherConsumerServiceImpl.scala
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ private[akka] final class EventPusherConsumerServiceImpl(
                       transformedEventEnvelope.sequenceNr,
                       transformedEventEnvelope.eventOption.getOrElse(FilteredPayload),
                       isSnapshotEvent = fromSnapshot(transformedEventEnvelope),
+                      fillSequenceNumberGaps = init.fillSequenceNumberGaps,
                       transformedEventEnvelope.eventMetadata,
                       transformedEventEnvelope.tags,
                       _))(destination.eventProducerPushDestination.settings.journalWriteTimeout, system.scheduler)
diff --git a/project/Dependencies.scala b/project/Dependencies.scala
index ccf98e3e0..a64d63062 100644
--- a/project/Dependencies.scala
+++ b/project/Dependencies.scala
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ object Dependencies {
   val AkkaProjectionVersionInDocs = "1.5"
 
   object Versions {
-    val akka = sys.props.getOrElse("build.akka.version", "2.9.0")
+    val akka = sys.props.getOrElse("build.akka.version", "2.9.1-M1")
     val akkaPersistenceCassandra = "1.2.0"
     val akkaPersistenceJdbc = "5.3.0"
     val akkaPersistenceR2dbc = "1.2.0"
diff --git a/samples/grpc/iot-service-scala/src/main/resources/persistence.conf b/samples/grpc/iot-service-scala/src/main/resources/persistence.conf
index d67f12817..c83f56ae5 100644
--- a/samples/grpc/iot-service-scala/src/main/resources/persistence.conf
+++ b/samples/grpc/iot-service-scala/src/main/resources/persistence.conf
@@ -23,10 +23,6 @@ akka {
         password = ${?DB_PASSWORD}
       }
     }
-
-    # Edge may omit sequence numbers, e.g. due to compaction.
-    # Such gaps will be handled as filtered events.
-    typed.event-writer.fill-sequence-number-gaps = on
   }
 
   projection.r2dbc {