Virginia Tech Researchers Find Potential Method to Control Mosquito Populations

Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) have found a new way to identify genetic targets that are useful for the control of mosquito populations, potentially offering an alternative to insecticides.

The study published in Communications Biology focused on the genetic basis of species incompatibility. The Virginia Tech team crossed Aedes aegypti, a major global arboviral disease vector, and its sibling species from the Indian Ocean, A. mascarensis. When the offspring is crossed back with one parent, about 10 percent of the progeny becomes intersex and is unable to reproduce. The team identified abnormalities in the sex determination pathways of these intersex mosquitoes and found that these mosquitoes are genetic males but express both male and female genes, leading to mixed physical traits.

The researchers hope to develop strategies to help them create all-male mosquito populations which could help control mosquito numbers by eliminating females. This research, conducted in Igor Sharakhov's lab at Virginia Tech, could also help identify genes that affect female mosquito behavior and aid future vector control methods.

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