Company Receives Permit To Release Swarm Of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes In Florida

Tags: Aedes, Genetic biocontrol, North America, Oxitec, Sterile insect technique (SIT)
I. Monzon, International Business Times, 2020.

A federal agency has provided a biotech company with the proper permit to release a swarm of genetically altered mosquitoes in Florida as a way to curb the spread of diseases in the area. If the company receives the additional approvals, it might begin releasing the mosquitoes this summer.

The mosquitoes were bred inside the laboratories of Oxitec, a British biotech firm. The company mainly focuses on transgenically modifying mosquitoes to carry lethal genes designed to be passed onto their offspring.