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Bengaluru: Oxitec, a biotechnology company in the United Kingdom, plan to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys of the USA this month ais part of a trial to combat mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and the disease caused by the Zika virus.
This is the latest experiment in mosquito-targeted genetic engineering aimed at tackling diseases that cause headaches. continues to kill thousands every year – an approach that has both critics and supporters.
Only females bite mosquitoes, while males feed on all nectar.
The mosquitoes that Oxitec plans to release will all be male, with a protein that will kill all of their female offspring.
The exact places where the mosquitoes will be released have not been announced.
The goal over time is to reduce the population of the country Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads the above diseases as well as chikungunya and yellow fever.
Mosquito populations in Florida are believed to have become resistant to a common group of insecticides., which causes concern.
Oxitec plans to release about 750 million male mosquitoes to breed with females in the wild in two years.
Although the plan raises concerns among some environmental groups about its potential impact on the ecology, the company says it sees no risk from the experiment. Oxitec claims he released more than a billion genetically modified mosquitoes over the years in other trials.
Also read: GM mosquito experiment to reduce dengue-causing species in Brazil fails
How transgenic mosquitoes work
There are two approaches to the genetic modification of mosquitoes that are being experimented with. One is to adapt males as well as females to become resistant to disease, thus reducing their ability to transmit it to other species.
The other is to change the reproductive capacity of the males so that they can not reproduce or produce only sterile offspring.
The second method is aimed at reducing the population of mosquitoes with the ultimate goal of eliminating them from a region. Since the genetic modification is passed on from parent to offspring, it is called “transgenic”, and this is the technology that Oxitec is trying to test. The first generation of mosquitoes will be called OX513A.
Oxitec genetic engineers mosquitoes in British laboratories to give them a ‘self-limiting’ gene. The gene will make women dependent on an antibiotic for life – if they do not get that antibiotic, they will die.
Eggs laid by these mosquitoes will be sent to Florida Keys, where they will be soaked in water, which will allow mosquitoes to hatch.
If females hatch, they will not have access to the antibiotics and will die. But males will survive and carry the gene, which will kick in again when they mate with females in the wild. This is expected to reduce the local female mosquito population.
The company has already tried the approach in field trials in Brazil, Cayman Islands and Malaysia. The results were apparently promising, shows a reduction up to 95 percent in mosquito populations and a drop of more than 90 percent in dengue cases in the area.
Why resist trials
Many voices were raised against the Oxitec hearings. Some ecologists believe that the loss of mosquitoes is unlikely to have any long-term effects on the ecosystem, as it is not a keystone on which others depend, but others claim that it is unwise to draw such a conclusion.
The company also has come under criticism because he allegedly was not transparent about them and the U.S. government agency’s Environmental Process Agency, which Oxitec refutes.
Other critics have flag the lack of long-term data on disease reduction, while others remain on the unproven effects of antibiotics in the area.
There were also concerns that the experiment might not go as planned, as happened in a trial in Brazil. apparently saw some reproduce sterile offspring and survive to adulthood.
The WHO has expressed support for the study of genetically modified mosquitoes as a tool to combat mosquito-borne diseases. “More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in areas at risk of at least one serious disease carried by vectors. Together, these diseases take a huge toll on economies and can hamper both rural and urban development. ‘ said the agency in a statement issued in October 2020.
However, he warns that the use of the technology ‘raises concerns and questions about ethics, safety, management, affordability and cost-effectiveness that need to be addressed’. Research on the technology “should be done according to a step-by-step approach and supported by clear management mechanisms to evaluate any health, environmental and ecological implications”, he said.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also read: Killer GM fungus helps scientists destroy 99% of malaria mosquitoes within 45 days
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