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.



[www.eurekalert.org]