In the US, they want to set up an experiment to combat tropical diseases, releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into nature
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is examining the possibility of combating several tropical diseases spread in the south of the country with the help of millions of genetically modified mosquitoes grown by the British biotechnology company Oxitec.
Due to global warming, the spread of diseases such as dengue fever or Chikungunya infection shifts to the north, threatening the central regions of the country, especially since there is no vaccine for both diseases. Carriers of ailments are mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti , a genetically modified version of which in the amount of several million individuals is planned to be set free on the islands of the Florida Keys (south-eastern extremity of the USA).
Mosquito species Aedes albopictus
The developer of GMO mosquitoes is the British company Oxitec , founded by immigrants from the University of Oxford. They have a patented method for breeding Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with modified DNA, which includes fragments of simple herpesvirus, Escherichia coli proteins, as well as coral and cabbage genes. Testing revealed that insects are harmless to laboratory animals, but their genes are deadly for mosquito larvae, leading to their death before they can fly and tolerate the disease. All GMO mosquitoes are males that only feed on nectar and do not bite humans, unlike females. It is assumed that future insect larvae due to the performed genetic intervention should be unviable, which will lead to a decrease in the population.
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At the FDA, such an experiment is treated with caution, intending to prevent a real experiment until all information has been carefully studied. Representatives of Oxitec, in turn, give a successful example: in 2012, 3.3 million GMO mosquitoes released in the Cayman Islands resulted in the destruction of 96% of the insect population. A similar success story also occurred in Brazil, and local authorities now intend to repeat the attack on a larger scale.
The project of the US authorities has attracted public attention: not all residents of the region would like to be bitten by genetically modified mosquitoes, despite assurances from Oxitec biotechnologists. This led to the fact that already about 130,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org against the experiment.
Due to global warming, the spread of diseases such as dengue fever or Chikungunya infection shifts to the north, threatening the central regions of the country, especially since there is no vaccine for both diseases. Carriers of ailments are mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti , a genetically modified version of which in the amount of several million individuals is planned to be set free on the islands of the Florida Keys (south-eastern extremity of the USA).
Mosquito species Aedes albopictus
The developer of GMO mosquitoes is the British company Oxitec , founded by immigrants from the University of Oxford. They have a patented method for breeding Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with modified DNA, which includes fragments of simple herpesvirus, Escherichia coli proteins, as well as coral and cabbage genes. Testing revealed that insects are harmless to laboratory animals, but their genes are deadly for mosquito larvae, leading to their death before they can fly and tolerate the disease. All GMO mosquitoes are males that only feed on nectar and do not bite humans, unlike females. It is assumed that future insect larvae due to the performed genetic intervention should be unviable, which will lead to a decrease in the population.
')
At the FDA, such an experiment is treated with caution, intending to prevent a real experiment until all information has been carefully studied. Representatives of Oxitec, in turn, give a successful example: in 2012, 3.3 million GMO mosquitoes released in the Cayman Islands resulted in the destruction of 96% of the insect population. A similar success story also occurred in Brazil, and local authorities now intend to repeat the attack on a larger scale.
The project of the US authorities has attracted public attention: not all residents of the region would like to be bitten by genetically modified mosquitoes, despite assurances from Oxitec biotechnologists. This led to the fact that already about 130,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org against the experiment.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/375869/
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