Keywords: population replacement

An economic evaluation of Wolbachia deployments for dengue control in Vietnam

H. C. Turner, D. L. Quyen, R. Dias, P. T. Huong, C. P. Simmons and K. L. Anders,  PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  17:e0011356. 2023.
INTRODUCTION: Dengue is a major public health challenge and a growing problem due to climate change. The release of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is a novel form of vector control against dengue. However, there remains a need to ...
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Gene Drive Technology With Agricultural Application Potential

R. Carmeli-Peslak,  SeedWorld,  2023.
Gene drive technology, a genetic phenomenon that occurs in nature, causes a trait to spread in species through sexual reproduction over many generations. The inheritance rate is higher than the Mendelian rate which is 50%. Gene drives have been used for public health and ...
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Wolbachia wAlbB inhibit dengue and Zika infection in the mosquito Aedes aegypti with an Australian background

L. E. Hugo, G. Rašić, A. J. Maynard, L. Ambrose, C. Liddington, C. J. E. Thomas, N. S. Nath, M. Graham, C. Winterford, B. M. C. R. Wimalasiri-Yapa, Z. Xi, N. W. Beebe and G. J. Devine,  PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases,  16:e0010786. 2022.
Biological control of mosquito vectors using the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia is an emerging strategy for the management of human arboviral diseases. We recently described the development of a strain of Aedes aegypti infected with the Wolbachia strain wAlbB (referred to as ...
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Risk Assessment on the Release of Wolbachia-Infected Aedes aegypti in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

D. Buchori, A. Mawan, I. Nurhayati, A. Aryati, H. Kusnanto and U. K. Hadi,  Insects,  13. 2022.
Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti is the latest technology that was developed to eliminate dengue fever. The Ministry of Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenristekdikti) established an expert group to identify future potential risks that may occur over a ...
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Wolbachia-Virus interactions and arbovirus control through population replacement in mosquitoes

T. H. Ant, M. V. Mancini, C. J. McNamara, S. M. Rainey and S. P. Sinkins,  Pathogens and Global Health,  2022.
Following transfer into the primary arbovirus vector Aedes aegypti, several strains of the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia have been shown to inhibit the transmission of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses, important human pathogens that cause significant morbidity and ...
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Fitness costs of Wolbachia shift in locally-adapted Aedes aegypti mosquitoes

P. A. Ross and A. A. Hoffmann,  Environmental Microbiology,  2022.
Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs can remain quiescent for many months before hatching, allowing populations to persist through unfavorable conditions. Aedes aegypti infected with the Wolbachia strain wMel have been released in tropical and subtropical regions for dengue control. wMel ...
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An optimal control problem for dengue transmission model with Wolbachia and vaccination

J. Zhang, L. L. Liu, Y. Z. Li and Y. Wang,  Communications In Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation,  116. 2022.
The release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes into the wild mosquitoes population is an excellent biological control strategy which can be effective against mosquito-borne infections. In this work, we propose a dengue transmission model that incorporates releasing Wolbachia into ...
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Call for public consultation ̶ Development of Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for Wolbachia infected Aedes aegypti population replacement intervention

World Health Organization,  WHO,  2022.
WHO aims to reduce the global burden of dengue by 25% by 2030. To reach this goal, it is imperative to provide control programmes with sustainable vector control tools. Wolbachia, a symbiotic bacterium that occurs naturally in many insects, has been successfully transferred into ...
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Lack of robust evidence for a Wolbachia infection in Anopheles gambiae from Burkina Faso

S. P. Sawadogo, D. A. Kabore, E. B. Tibiri, A. Hughes, O. Gnankine, S. Quek, A. Diabaté, H. Ranson, G. L. Hughes and R. K. Dabiré,  Medical and Veterinary Entomology,  2022.
The endosymbiont Wolbachia can have major effects on the reproductive fitness, and vectorial capacity of host insects and may provide new avenues to control mosquito-borne pathogens. Anopheles gambiae s.l is the major vector of malaria in Africa but the use of Wolbachia in this ...
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Spatial modelling for population replacement of mosquito vectors at continental scale

N. J. Beeton, A. Wilkins, A. Ickowicz, K. R. Hayes and G. R. Hosack,  PLOS Computational Biology,  18:e1009526. 2022.
Malaria is one of the deadliest vector-borne diseases in the world. Researchers are developing new genetic and conventional vector control strategies to attempt to limit its burden. Novel control strategies require detailed safety assessment to ensure responsible and successful ...
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Spatial modelling for population replacement of mosquito vectors at continental scale

N. J. Beeton, A. Wilkins, A. Ickowicz, K. R. Hayes and G. R. Hosack,  bioRxiv,  2021.10.06.463299. 2022.
Malaria is one of the deadliest vector-borne diseases in the world. Researchers are developing new genetic and conventional vector control strategies to attempt to limit its burden. Novel control strategies require detailed safety assessment to ensure responsible and successful ...
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Wolbachia wAlbB inhibits bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic fever viruses in Culicoides midge cells

M. L. Matthews, H. O. Covey, B. S. Drolet and C. L. Brelsfoard,  Medical and Veterinary Entomology,  2022.
Abstract Culicoides midges are hematophagous insects that transmit arboviruses of veterinary importance. These viruses include bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic fever virus (EHDV). The endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis Hertig spreads rapidly through insect host ...
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Monitoring Needs for Gene Drive Mosquito Projects: Lessons From Vector Control Field Trials and Invasive Species

G. Rašić, N. F. Lobo, E. H. Jeffrey Gutiérrez, C. H. Sánchez and J. M. Marshall,  Frontiers in Genetics,  12:780327. 2022.
As gene drive mosquito projects advance from contained laboratory testing to semi-field testing and small-scale field trials, there is a need to assess monitoring requirements to: i) assist with the effective introduction of the gene drive system at field sites, and ii) detect ...
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Demographic feedbacks can hamper the spatial spread of a gene drive

F. Debarre and L. Girardin,  bioRxiv,  2021.12.01.470771. 2021.
This paper is concerned with a reactiond diffusion system modeling the fixation and the invasion in a population of a gene drive (an allele biasing inheritance, increasing its own transmission to offspring). In our model, the gene drive has a negative effect on the fitness of ...
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Spatial modelling for population replacement of mosquito vectors at continental scale

N. J. Beeton, A. Wilkins, A. Ickowicz, K. R. Hayes and G. R. Hosack,  bioRxiv,  2021.10.06.463299. 2021.
We explore transmission of the gene drive between the subspecies, different hybridisation mechanisms, the effects of both local dispersal and potential wind-aided migration to the spread, and the development of resistance to the gene drive. We find that given best current ...
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Discrete dynamical models on Wolbachia infection frequency in mosquito populations with biased release ratios

Y. Shi and B. Zheng,  Journal of Biological Dynamics,  2021.
We develop two discrete models to study how supplemental releases affect the Wolbachia spreading dynamics in cage mosquito populations. The first model focuses on the case when only infected males are released at each generation. This release strategy has been proved to be ...
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A wAlbB Wolbachia&lt transinfection displays stable phenotypic effects across divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgrounds

P. A. Ross, X. Gu, K. L. Robinson, Q. Yang, E. Cottingham, Y. Zhang, H. L. Yeap, X. Xu, N. M. Endersby-Harshman and A. A. Hoffmann,  bioRxiv,  2021.06.25.450002. 2021.
Aedes mosquitoes harboring intracellular Wolbachia bacteria are being released in arbovirus and mosquito control programs. With releases taking place around the world, understanding the contribution of host variation to Wolbachia phenotype is crucial. We generated a Wolbachia ...
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Manipulated Mosquitoes Cut Dengue by 77%

T. Hayes,  Healthcare Packaging,  2021.
Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, wasn’t that common 50 years ago. In fact, only nine countries had severe outbreaks. But since then, it’s been on a steady incline to the point that there are now 400 million infections a year that contribute to 22,000 deaths. ...
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Dengue Infections Can Be Sharply Reduced With Wolbachia Bacteria

J. Stone,  Medscape,  2021.
A modestly titled new study released in the New England Journal of Medicine belies the extraordinary 77% protective efficacy reported for preventing dengue infections with Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. A cluster-randomized clinical trial, the AWED ("Applying ...
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Making mosquitoes to fight mosquitoes to prevent dengue

A. George,  Times of India,  2021.
In 2017, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the national capitl needed to be made mosquito-free. The same year, his Kerala counterpart, Pinaray Vijayan, called a three-day state-wide cleanliness drive as hospitals filled with genue patients.
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Dengue Fever Cut Down by 77% With Groundbreaking Bacteria-Armed Mosquitoes

M. Davis,  The Science Times,  2021.
Scientists found that dengue fever cases have decreased by 77% in a groundbreaking trial that took place in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia. They used Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes that reduced their ability to spread the dengue fever. The team at the World Mosquito Program said that ...
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Mosquito ‘bacteria hack’ nearly eliminates dengue fever and could save millions of lives

A. Wilkins,  METRO,  2021.
Mosquitoes infected with a ‘miraculous’ bacteria have been shown to reduce dengue fever cases by 77%, in a groundbreaking new study. Scientists released mosquitoes infected with ‘Wolbachia’ bacteria into the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta – but only in certain zones. In ...
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‘Miraculous’ mosquito hack cuts dengue by 77%

J. Gallagher,  BBC,  2021.
Dengue fever cases have been cut by 77% in a "groundbreaking" trial that manipulates the mosquitoes that spread it, say scientists. They used mosquitoes infected with "miraculous" bacteria that reduce the insect's ability to spread dengue. The trial took place in Yogyakarta city, ...
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Modified mosquitoes reduce dengue cases by 77% in Indonesia experiment

M. Fox,  CNN,  2021.
An experiment to infect mosquitoes with bacteria that stop them from transmitting viruses appears to have helped reduced the spread of deadly dengue virus in Indonesia, researchers reported Wednesday. The modified mosquitoes thrived for three years, and cases of dengue were ...
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Efficacy of Wolbachia-Infected Mosquito Deployments for the Control of Dengue

A. Utarini, C. Indriani, R. A. Ahmad, W. Tantowijoyo, E. Arguni, M. R. Ansari, E. Supriyati, D. S. Wardana, Y. Meitika, I. Ernesia, I. Nurhayati, E. Prabowo, B. Andari, B. R. Green, L. Hodgson, Z. Cutcher, E. Rancès, P. A. Ryan, S. L. O’Neill, S. M. Dufau,  New England Journal of Medicine,  384:2177-2186. 2021.
BACKGROUND Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the wMel strain of Wolbachia pipientis are less susceptible than wild-type A. aegypti to dengue virus infection. METHODS We conducted a cluster-randomized trial involving releases of wMel-infected A. aegypti mosquitoes for the ...
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A Pivotal Mosquito Experiment Could Not Have Gone Better

E. Yong,  The Atlantic,  2021.
The World Mosquito Program (WMP), a nonprofit that pioneered this technique, had run small pilot studies in Australia that suggested it could work. Utarini, who co-leads WMP Yogyakarta, has now shown conclusively that it does. Her team released Wolbachia-carrying mosquitoes in ...
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Mosquitoes armed with virus-fighting bacteria sharply curb dengue infections, hospitalizations

K. Servick,  Science,  2021.
A strategy for fighting dengue fever with bacteria-armed mosquitoes has passed its most rigorous test yet: a large, randomized, controlled trial. Researchers reported today dramatic reductions in rates of dengue infection and hospitalization in areas of an Indonesian city where ...
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Study demonstrates ‘exciting potential’ of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes to control dengue

G. Gallagher,  Healio,  2021.
The release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes led to a 77% reduction in the incidence of symptomatic dengue in an Indonesian city, according to researchers, who said the same approach could be used to fight other mosquito-borne diseases. The study tested a strain of Wolbachia ...
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Malaria-Resistant Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae); The Principle is Proven, But Will the Effectors Be Effective?

Z. N. Adelman and B. B. Kojin,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  58:1997-2005. 2021.
Over the last few decades, a substantial number of anti-malarial effector genes have been evaluated for their ability to block parasite infection in the mosquito vector. While many of these approaches have yielded significant effects on either parasite intensity or prevalence of ...
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Current Effector and Gene-Drive Developments to Engineer Arbovirus-Resistant Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) for a Sustainable Population Replacement Strategy in the Field

W. R. Reid, K. E. Olson and A. W. E. Franz,  J Med Entomol,  2021.
Conventional mosquito control efforts based on insecticide treatments and/or the use of bednets and window curtains are currently insufficient to reduce arbovirus prevalence in affected regions. Novel, genetic strategies that are being developed involve the genetic manipulation ...
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Modelling the Wolbachia incompatible insect technique: strategies for effective mosquito population elimination

D. E. Pagendam, B. J. Trewin, N. Snoad, S. A. Ritchie, A. A. Hoffmann, K. M. Staunton, C. Paton and N. Beebe,  BMC Biology,  18:13. 2020.
We introduce a simple Markov population process model for studying mosquito populations subjected to a Wolbachia-IIT programme which exhibit an unstable equilibrium threshold. The model is used to study, in silico, scenarios that are likely to yield a successful elimination ...
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Design and analysis of CRISPR-based underdominance toxin-antidote gene drives

J. Champer, S. E. Champer, I. K. Kim, A. G. Clark and P. W. Messer,  Evolutionary Applications,  18. 2020.
We model drives which target essential genes that are either haplosufficient or haplolethal, using nuclease promoters with expression restricted to the germline, promoters that additionally result in cleavage activity in the early embryo from maternal deposition, and promoters ...
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Brave New Planet: Reshaping Nature Through Gene Drives

E. Lander,  Brave New Planet,  2020.
A new technology, called gene drives, has the power to spread any genetic instructions you wish across an entire animal or plant species in the wild. It might let us restore ecosystems ravaged by invasive species, or help species adapt to climate change. And, it might save ...
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Mosquitoes engineered to resist the malaria parasite

Anonymous,  Lab+Life Scientist,  2020.
Anopheles mosquitoes that have been genetically engineered with multiple antimalaria molecules, acting at different stages of the malaria life cycle, are strongly resistant to the parasite that causes malaria and are unlikely to lose that resistance quickly.
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New study highlights success of gene drive technology with preventing mosquito-spread diseases

A. Meckler-Pacheco,  The California Aggie,  2020.
For the past 30 years, researchers have studied the usage of gene drive technology to stop the spread of malaria. The idea is to create genetically engineered mosquitoes (GEM) that are either resistant to carrying the malaria parasite or that fail to reproduce, which would result ...
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Synthetically engineered mosquitos could neutralize dengue virus infection

L. Woolfe,  Biotechniques,  2020.
Dengue virus infection can be severe and life threatening. New research has developed an improved approach to controlling this deadly infection.
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Mosquitoes genetically modified to combat dengue

Downtoearth,  Down To Earth,  2020.
For the first time mosquitoes have been engineered to fight all 4 known types of dengue
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Genetically Modified Mosquitos Neutralize Dengue Virus

N. P. Dyal,  Infectious Disease Advisor,  2020.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have identified a target gene in mosquitos that renders the insects completely refractory to all 4 serotypes of the dengue virus and thus, incapable of transmitting the virus to humans, according to study results published in ...
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Genetically modified mosquitoes resist all dengue viruses, researchers find

B. Burton,  C|NET,  2020.
This new kind of mosquito can't spread any form of the deadly disease.
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Genetically engineered mosquitoes resist spreading any form of dengue

K. Servick,  Science,  2020.
Recover from dengue once, and you’re not necessarily free and clear. The mosquito-borne disease marked by fever, rash, and debilitating pain results from any of four genetically distinct versions of the dengue virus. Previously infected people who get hit with a second of these ...
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Genetically engineered mosquitoes halt Dengue spread

L. Thomas,  New Medical Life Sciences,  2020.
A new study published in the journal PLOS Pathogens in January 2020 reports the development of mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to resist infection by several types of the dengue virus. This is the first time ever that all types of the virus have been targeted by ...
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Researchers Genetically Modify First Batch Of Mosquitoes Resistant To All Four Types Of Dengue

M. Dapcevich,  IFL Science,  2020.
An international team of researchers have synthetically engineered a breed of mosquitos that are resistant to all four types of the dengue virus for the first time, a feat they say may someday suppress the disease and stop its transmission to humans.
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Genetically engineered mosquitoes are immune to all strains of dengue virus for first time

G. Weule,  ABC News Online,  2020.
Locked in a secure lab near Melbourne is the newest addition in the fight against dengue: genetically engineered mosquitoes that are resistant to all strains of the potentially deadly virus.
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Mosquitoes resistant to all types of dengue virus engineered

N. Lavars,  New Atlas,  2020.
Last year, scientists at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) made a big breakthrough, engineering mosquitoes that break the chain of Zika virus transmission. But they did so with multiple targets in mind, with the mosquito in question, ...
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Broad dengue neutralization in mosquitoes expressing an engineered antibody

A. Buchman, S. Gamez, M. Li, I. Antoshechkin, H.-H. Li, H.-W. Wang, C.-H. Chen, M. J. Klein, J.-B. Duchemin, J. E. Crowe, Jr., P. N. Paradkar and O. S. Akbari,  PLOS Pathogens,  16:e1008103. 2020.
Author summary With limited success of traditional vector control methods to curb dengue infections and more than half of the world’s population still at risk, there is a need for novel strategies to reduce its impact on public health. Recent advances in genetic technologies ...
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Antiviral effectors and gene drive strategies for mosquito population suppression or replacement to mitigate arbovirus transmission by Aedes aegypti

A. E. Williams, A. W. E. Franz, W. R. Reid and K. E. Olson,  Insects,  11:1-18. 2020.
The mosquito vector Aedes aegypti transmits arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) of medical importance, including Zika, dengue, and yellow fever viruses. Controlling mosquito populations remains the method of choice to prevent disease transmission. Novel mosquito control ...
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Wolbachia transinfections in Culex quinquefasciatus generate cytoplasmic incompatibility

T. H. Ant, C. Herd, F. Louis, A. B. Failloux and S. P. Sinkins,  Insect Molecular Biology,  29:1-8. 2020.
Culex quinquefasciatus is an important mosquito vector of a number of viral and protozoan pathogens of humans and animals, and naturally carries the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis, strain wPip. Wolbachia are used in two distinct vector control strategies: firstly, population ...
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Population modification of Anopheline species to control malaria transmission

R. Carballar-Lejarazú and A. A. James,  Pathogens and Global Health,  111:424-435. 2018.
Vector control strategies based on population modification of Anopheline mosquitoes may have a significant role in the malaria eradication agenda. They could consolidate elimination gains by providing barriers to the reintroduction of parasites and competent vectors, and allow ...
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A cage replacement experiment involving introduction of genes for refractoriness to Plasmodium-yoelii-nigeriensis into a population of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera, Culicidae)

P. M. Graves and C. F. Curtis,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  19:127-133. 1982.
A caged population of Anopheles gambiae was allowed to breed continuously and samples of the progeny were tested for susceptibility to Plasmodium yoelii nigeriensis. Males of a strain partially refractory to this parasite were released into the population for an 18-wk period. The ...
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Transporting marker gene re (red eye) into a laboratory cage population of Aedes-aegypti (Diptera Culicidae), using meiotic drive at MD locus

R. J. Wood, L. M. Cook, A. Hamilton and A. Whitelaw,  Journal of Medical Entomology,  14:461-464. 1977.
An attempt has been made to use the meiotic drive gene MD to transport a marker re (redeye) into a laboratory population of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. The experiment produced an increase in re frequency, but also indicated that this gene has unexpectedly high fitness in the ...
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Field trial of competitive displacement of Aedes-polynesiensis by Aedes-albopictus on a Pacific atoll

L. Rosen, L. E. Rozeboom, W. C. Reeves, J. Saugrain and D. J. Gubler,  American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  25:906-913. 1976.
Prior laboratory studies and field observations suggested that it might be possible to reduce the size of the population of, or eliminate, Aedes polynesiensis by the introduction of Aedes albopictus. The former mosquito is the principal vector of nonperiodic filariasis caused by ...
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Population replacement in Culex fatigens by means of cytoplasmic incompatibility. Laboratory experiments with non-overlapping generations

C. F. Curtis and T. Adak,  Bulletin of the World Health Organization,  51:249-255. 1974.
Bidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility in the Culex pipiens complex appears to provide a mechanism for the replacement of a wild population by a strain refractory to filaria or a strain made partly sterile by a translocation. As a preliminary test of the feasibility of the ...
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Possible replacement of malaria mosquitoes

S. Avery Jones,  Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,  51:469-470. 1957.
Sir,--The purpose of this letter is to draw the attention of research workers in control of mosquito colonies to the possible value of investigating the factors governing the infection of mosquitoes with parasites of human malaria. If a strain of a vector species could be ...
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