‘Death gene’ in genetically modified male mosquitoes
‘Death gene’ in genetically modified male mosquitoes
Tags: Dengue, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, North America, OxitecJ. Goddard, The Times, 2021.
Tens of thousands of bio-engineered mosquitoes have taken flight in the Florida Keys under a pilot project that aims to breed insects programmed with a “death switch”. Genetically modified males produced by Oxitec — a British-founded biotechnology company — have begun mating with local populations of invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, whose female progeny are programmed to die before they mature, wiping out a generation of potential disease-carriers. “Mosquito-borne disease is a very real issue and conventional controls are losing their effectiveness,” said Dr Nathan Rose, head of regulatory affairs at Oxitec in Milton Park, Oxfordshire.
