Highlight: Self-limiting gene drive suppresses malaria mosquitoes
Highlight: Self-limiting gene drive suppresses malaria mosquitoes
35263Gorm Palmgren, CRISPR Medicine News, 2025-11-02 17:22:29.
Malaria claimed over 600,000 lives in 2022, with Anopheles gambiae serving as one of the most efficient vectors in sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 96% of malaria deaths occur. The emergence of insecticide resistance threatens progress in disease control, prompting the development of genetic strategies to address it. CRISPR-homing gene drives have emerged as the most studied self-sustaining approaches, whilst various self-limiting methods that require repeated releases continue to be explored.
The research team developed a system, termed Male-Drive Female-Sterile (MDFS), that exploits CRISPR-Cas9 to simultaneously perform two distinct functions (see Figure 1). The genetic construct contains an eCFP fluorescent marker, a Cas9 endonuclease under the control of the germline vasa2 promoter, and a guide RNA targeting the female-specific exon 5 of the doublesex gene. The construct was integrated into the doublesex locus at the intron 4–exon 5 boundary using recombinase-mediated cassette exchange.
