GM mosquitoes against Zika virus

WHO will support the use of genetically modified mosquitoes

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According to the World Health Organization, it will support the use of genetically modified mosquitoes to fight Zika disease (Zika Outbreak: WHO's Global Emergency Response Plan). Previously, such methods were considered too new and potentially dangerous for mass use.

The virus that causes Zika disease is transmitted with the bites of Aedes mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti, which also spreads a number of other diseases. "Given the scale of the Zika crisis, WHO recommends that affected countries and their partners expand the use of old and new mosquito control methods as a front line of defense," the WHO said in a statement. It notes that additional research will be needed to evaluate the new methods. With regard to genetically modified mosquitoes, the WHO advisory group recommends continuing field trials and assessing the risks associated with their use. However, the WHO notes that the trials currently taking place in the Cayman Islands have already caused a significant decline in the local population of Aedes aegypti.

At the moment, there are several different degrees of readiness of methods of genetic modification of mosquitoes. They were developed when Zika was not yet considered a serious threat, and were aimed at combating dengue disease. But since both diseases are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, they can be applied in the current situation. One of the methods is associated with the introduction of a mutation into the mosquito genome that causes the death of mosquito offspring at the larval stage. As a result, these mosquitoes mate with females, but their larvae die before they have time to grow to the stage of an adult mosquito, when the insect becomes a potential vector of diseases. As tests have shown, the number of mosquitoes as a result decreases by 95%.

Last year, scientists determined which gene in a mosquito determines the appearance of males in Aedes aegypti. By manipulating this gene, it is possible to achieve the appearance of exclusively male offspring in mosquitoes, which will exclude the transmission of infection with bites and lead to the gradual disappearance of the mosquito population. At the moment, a similar method has already been developed to combat the pest of agriculture, the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata).

Finally, two genetically engineered methods have recently been developed to control malaria mosquitoes from the genus Anopheles. In one case, it was possible to ensure that 95% of their offspring were males, in another, the mosquito's body was made unsuitable for the pathogen of malaria to live. Perhaps similar methods can be created for Aedes mosquitoes.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru 19.02.2015