Reliance based on CRISPR gene drive can eliminate mosquitoes in the wild.

How can mosquito larvae be eliminated? A new gene-driven population of captive mosquitoes carrying malaria could cause a complete collapse.
in the experiment, no mutation seq.com prevented gene-driven transmission, making it the first gene driver expected to take effect in the wild.
gene-driven purpose is to give a genetic advantage to a particular gene that spreads throughout the population after generations of reproduction.
in the case of mosquitoes, CRISPR-based gene drivers can pass on specific genes to 99 percent of offspring, compared with 50 percent of conventional genes.
previous experiments have shown that a gene driver designed to reduce the reproductive capacity of female mosquitoes can spread among caged mosquitoes and reduce the size of their populations.
However, subsequent experiments found that mosquitoes eventually developed resistance to the gene-driven, preventing further transmission, meaning the strategy was not appropriate for eliminating mosquitoes in the wild. In a recent article published in Nature Biotechnology,
, Andrea Crisanti of Imperial College London and colleagues reported a new CRISPR-based gene driver that targets the Highly Conservative gender pathways of the Gambian mosquito.
found that the gene was fast spreading among caged mosquitoes, and that the mosquitoes were not resistant to it, and that the mosquito population collapsed completely -- unprecedented.
researchers say that because the gene drive not only spreads quickly and completely, but also does not show resistance, the next step will be a limited field trial.
Source: Science.com.