The malaria mosquito is eliminated in the lab by creating a population of all males
The malaria mosquito is eliminated in the lab by creating a population of all males
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Sex distorterNewsDesk, Instant, 2020.
Modifications that create more male offspring can eliminate the malaria mosquito population in laboratory experiments.
A team led by Imperial College London disseminates genetic modification that distorts the sex ratio through the Anopheles gambiae mosquito population that is locked up using ‘gene drive’ technology.
Modification of the team caused mosquitoes to produce more male offspring, which in turn caused no females to be born and total collapse in the population. This is the first successful gene deviation gene drive ever made, a goal for scientists because this modification is expected to be very effective in controlling the natural mosquito population.
This study is an important milestone in the long-sought goal of refraction of human malaria mosquitoes so that only non-biting males are produced. Professor Andrea Crisanti
There were 228 million cases of malaria in 2018, and 405,000 deaths, with new interventions needed to move towards eradicating malaria. There are around 3500 species of mosquitoes throughout the world, of which only 40 related species can carry malaria. A team modification was applied to the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, the main malaria vector in sub-Saharan Africa.
