Insect control new means: a new "precision-guided" insect infertility technology.

The ability of gene editing technology to alter population characteristics, as gene-editing baby events ferment, is believed to be something that most people already know.
before that, we cheered every time we read about the news of mosquito genes modifications.
Now, do we need to consider continuing to inhibit the number of species, while making a simulated prediction of the local ecosystem first? Man-made this is obviously from the interests of the human, but it is undeniable that once the natural balance is broken, may bring the butterfly effect of endless consequences.
researchers at the University of California, San Diego, have developed an insect control tool based on CRISPR gene editing technology to control insect populations by continuing to produce sterile male insects.
said in a paper published in the 8th issue of the journal Nature Communications that the new "precision-guided" insect infertility technique (pgSIT) will greatly improve human control of agricultural pests and vector insects.
since the 1930s, agricultural researchers have been looking for ways to release sterile male pests into the wild to control and eliminate pest populations.
, for example, the United States began a method of radiating male pests in the 1950s to eliminate the New World's spiral cone flies.
to this day, this method is still used in Mexico and parts of Central America.
, the researchers combined traditional experience with modern genetic technology to develop pgSIT, which uses gene editing techniques to alter key genes that control insect sex and fertility, allowing eggs to hatch only sterile male insects.
to prove the effectiveness of the technique, the researchers designed a number of pgSIT systems in fruit flies, which eventually resulted in 100% sterile male fruit flies.
because the technology's targeted genes are found in many species of insects, researchers believe the technology could be used to control a range of insects, including disease-transmitting mosquitoes.
in the system they designed, first by geneticed editing to produce target pest eggs, and then transportthemed them to the pest-ravaged areas to hatch, the newborn sterile male pests will mate with female pests in the wild, but cannot reproduce, resulting in a decline in pest populations.
mathematical models have shown that pgSIT can achieve a stronger population suppression effect than current self-limiting inhibition techniques. Dr. Omar Akabi, who led the study
, said pgSIT is a species-specific, safe, effective and scalable new genetic population control technology with great potential for controlling agricultural pests and disease vectors.
he believes the technology could be safely used in the future to suppress or even eradicate target species, revolutionizing the way insects are managed and controlled.
Source: Science Daily.