Trial suppresses mosquitoes using non-GMO approach
GM Watch,
GM Watch,
2021.
In a first for the Southern Hemisphere, researchers have shown that a bacterium can successfully suppress populations of the invasive, disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito that is responsible for spreading dengue, yellow fever and Zika. Published in PNAS (see abstract below), the trial involved releasing three million male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Northern Queensland, sterilised with a naturally occurring bacterium called Wolbachia, across three trial sites over a 20-week period during the summer of 2018. The sterile male insects search out and mate with wild females, preventing the production of offspring. Scientists returned the following year and found one of the trial sites, Mourilyan in Queensland, was almost devoid of mosquitoes. More related to this: Gene Drives Could Kill Mosquitoes And Suppress Herpesvirus Infections EPA Approves Genetically Modified Mosquito Trial For Florida Keys Mosquito district workshop focuses on Keys trials Community engagement and field trials of genetically modified insects and animals
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