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In the study, scientists from Imperial College London used this technology to eliminate a population of caged mosquitoes capable of transmitting malaria, targeting a genetic sequence leading to male and female traits. After several generations, they found that 100% of these mosquitoes were affected.
"The difference in genetic content between men and women is very minimal in mosquitoes and humans," said author of the study, Andrea Crisanti, professor of molecular parasitology and microbiology at the University of California. Imperial College London.
Doublesex, as its name indicates, controls how mosquitoes differentiate into men and women. Females with two copies of the mutated gene did not develop properly and could not reproduce, while males developed normally and continued to propagate the mutation. Mutant females have also failed to develop the long horn they need to bite humans and suck blood.
In addition, the experience seemed to succeed where others failed – the spread of these mutant genes was not thwarted by mosquito resistance.
"We have selected a target site that can not be mutated or altered by the mosquito without paying a high price," said Crisanti.
The researchers note that this does not necessarily prove that their methods are "resistant to resistance". Experts say this could happen very differently outside small confined spaces and among many other mosquito species – some of which only carry the malaria parasite.
But even when it is a question of suppressing or extinguishing a kind of mosquito, are we opening the Pandora's box and freeing ourselves of something that we do not fully understand? Or will the only major impact be positive for humans while other organisms – the least harmful, ideally – will take the place of these insects in the ecosystem?
"It's an open question," said Catherine Hill, a professor in the Department of Entomology at Purdue University. "We are very interested in protecting human health while protecting the environment."
"The African malaria mosquito is the most dangerous animal on the planet," said Conor McMeniman, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. "New technologies that could help specifically and effectively control this scourge on humanity are welcome, but I want to stress that we must test this carefully and engage communities at risk to see what their attitudes are."
Health experts and entomologists have long focused on the fight against pathogenic mosquitoes, but "pests have the strange ability to adapt and overcome our best efforts to manage them and the damage they cause" said Peterson.
While experts call the new study a big step in the right direction, some predict "growing pain and unexpected results," according to medical entomologist Donald Yee, an associate professor at the University of Southern Mississippi.
"It will be nearly impossible to eliminate mosquitoes of all species, as this requires coordinated efforts from governments, scientists and the public," Yee told CNN in an email. "With very few exceptions in human history, humans have just not done very well in killing mosquitoes, even for short periods."
Yee said that the mosquitoes that really concern us – the main vectors of diseases such as yellow fever and dengue fever – are not native to many places where they transmit diseases to humans. Although few studies have kept a magnifying glass on the importance of mosquitoes for their habitats, it does not expect that their removal greatly affects these environments.
Dr. Crisanti said it was part of the upcoming research on the presence of mosquitoes in the food web, as well as how this gene editing technology will work in spaces that better mimic the conditions tropical.
And time is running out, Hill said. In the next five to ten years, she says scientists need to find new technologies that will replace previous conventional strategies and work together.
With climate change and a growing human population, "I think we will see more outbreaks" of mosquito-borne diseases, Hill said. "And we will see these diseases in places where we have not seen it before."
"It's a constant arms race between us and the mosquito and the pathogens that it transmits," she added. "I do not think it'll go away, and I do not see a magic bullet."
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