Genetically-Engineered Mosquitos- A Novel Solution to Disease Control
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01070-x
Pixabay
Mosquitoes are vectors of disease, and the species Aedes aegypti is particularly adept at spreading disease. Mosquitoes spread Malaria, Dengue Fever and West Nile Virus which all claim millions of lives annually. Traditional mosquito control efforts have included poisoning of stagnant waters, traps and limiting the amount of standing water in areas. A next generation solution that has recently been green-lighted is the spread of genetically-engineered mosquitoes to take the place of existing populations.
The EPA has partnered with Oxitec to release 2.4 billion engineered mosquitoes in California and Florida where mosquito-borne diseases are increasing. The engineered mosquitoes carry a “self-limiting” gene that male mosquitoes pass to their offspring. In addition to being of lower fecundity, these mosquitoes and their offspring can be tracked to see their effectiveness. The gene that the male mosquitoes pass on kill female offspring, thus reducing standing populations of mosquitoes. Since mosquitoes live their whole lives within 500-feet of their birth site, many genetically-engineered mosquitoes must be released over a large territory.
As reported in Nature, a trial was conducted using the Oxitec mosquitoes. The study took place in the Florida Keys and used 5-million mosquitoes. It was found that the mosquitoes did reduce Aedes aegypti populations and the results were positive based on the small-scale trial conducted. This shows promise that taking a novel and “green” approach to a persistent problem can pay off. Vectors of disease including mice, rats and bats could also be genetically engineered to reduce their impact on human populations around the world. In past efforts to reduce populations of unwanted animals, populations of sterilized animals are introduced to outperform existing populations and reduce future generations. Such an approach could be used in tandem to reduce disease vector populations.
Problems exist with this new mosquito-control method. Releasing genetically-engineered organisms into nature is controversial and potentially troublesome. It is unknown how these organisms could interact with the environment, or how the modifications could impact other populations. In addition, Aedes aegypti can be a virulent disease vector even with small populations. It is likely that in addition to genetically-engineered mosquitoes, poisons would still need to be released and bodies of standing water would either need to be eliminated or aerated. This is an intriguing and potentially game-changing method to control a truly dangerous disease vector that kills many annually around the World.
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