EPA approves the release of 2.5 million genetically modified mosquitoes

The EPA recently gave the green light to begin a pilot program in California and Florida for the release of 2.5 million genetically engineered male mosquitoes. The Aedes Aegypti have been a known invasive species in California since 2013. The mosquitoes can be found in as many as 22 countries to date and biting females can spread dengue, Zika, yellow fever and other diseases. In 2016, the spread of Zika began in Miami-Dade County, Florida and because of the correlation to A. Aegypti, the CDC recommended pregnant women to avoid  one mile are that the mosquitoes were known to typically inhabit.

The released flies will be all male and when they mate with the wild population, the wild population’s females will die before their eggs can hatch and the newborn males will continue to spread the daughter-killing gene. The state government of California has allowed the program to begin and cities like Fresno, Tulare, and San Bernadino can begin the release of the modified mosquitoes. However the Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services need to vote on the plans before they can go into effect.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/genetically-modified-mosquito-test-california-epa-oxitec

https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0274-0470

How Mosquito Genes Could be the Key to a Bite-Free Summer

A recent article published in the Los Angeles Times claims that genetic research being conducted with mosquitoes could be leading to a breakthrough we have all been waiting for. A team of researchers led by Dr. Matt DeGennaro at Florida International University are currently analyzing the genes in mosquitoes that help them find and bite them. Mosquitoes have the potential to carry many different harmful diseases, such as Zika Virus, Malaria, and Yellow Fever. The ability to isolate the genes responsible for their ability to hunt down and potentially infect humans would be a step in the direction of preventing these deadly diseases from being spread. Through his work with a species of mosquito known as Aedes aegypti, Dr. DeGennaro has determined that mosquitoes rely on a wide variety of cues to locate humans. They are known to have the ability to detect both carbon dioxide and lactic acid in the air to locate humans, and can even taste a human with their legs by landing on their skin. These uncanny abilities are possible because of certain genes the mosquito possesses. DeGennaro has done extensive research on the role the IR8a scent receptor in Aedes aegypti that detects carbon dioxide and lactic acid, and has found a way to disrupt the gene that codes for this key receptor. DeGennaro's research shows that mosquitoes without this receptor did have a significantly lower response to human chemical signatures. Overall, a much lower percentage of mosquitoes without the IR8a gene were able to detect human blood and odor than normal mosquitoes with the IR8a gene. This discovery is likely the first step in devising a strategy to deactivate this gene in mosquitoes and stop the spreading of deadly diseases such as Yellow Fever.

I think that this article and the research being conducted by Dr. DeGennaro and his team is very promising. The ability to isolate one of the genes that help mosquitoes track and bite humans is a very useful discovery. In the not-so-distant future, I would expect this information to lead to a new type of insecticide that specifically targets the IR8a gene in mosquitoes. This may seem very unlikely right now, but science progresses very quickly, and it would not surprise me if this type of insecticide was possible in the next few decades. However, the disruption of the mosquitoes' IR8a gene would do more than stop them from biting humans. The inability to detect carbon dioxide would likely impair their ability to locate any potential prey. This would cause the death of many mosquitoes and cause the entire ecosystem to be thrown out of balance. Before this is done, ecologists must determine what kinds of effects a dwindling mosquito population would have on the environment and weigh the risks and rewards associated with this scientific breakthrough.

Terminating Aedes Aegypti

Zika virus has been the latest news people have been talking about due to the danger it opposes to humans. There are many ways Zika can be fought with but will the regulatory agencies allows for these methods to go through is the real question. In the past, the devastating situation of screwworms flies was fought and eradicated by genetically modifying them. Dr. H. J. Muller, a geneticist specializing in Drosophila (fruit flies), and Dr. Edward Knipling noted X-ray can change the biochemistry of fruit flies. When fruit flies are exposed to radiation on a greater scale they become sterile even though they can still mate but not reproduce. Releasing these sterile insects to mate with the screwworm flies should alter the screwworm biologically and this should eradicate the species, in which this experiment was successful.

Zika Virus, along with dengue chikungunya and yellow fever outbreaks of the past, are all spread from the same mosquito: Aedes Aegypti.This experiment is going to be called Oxitec which refers to mosquitoes embedded with a lethal gene to prevent offspring’s development. Only the male pupae will be released and hope to exterminate the species.

Although it is understandable of the long process these experiments have to go through, I believe this is necessary to maintain genetic modifying things. This is a well-constructed experiment. For those of us who are not extremely familiar with the realm of genetics, genetic modifying and inducing lethal genes may be a difficult concept to grasp and even harsh. There may be questions: such as what if those lethal genes affect us in some way? This is the reason why we need regulatory agencies to look over things researchers may not have thought of. I absolutely believe in going through these systems is a good way to keep a balance of genetic modification.