A new method rationalizes the separation of non -mobile men from women

Virginia Tech scientists may have facilitated the fight against the deadliest animal in the world: mosquito. Only female mosquitoes bite because they need blood nutrients to develop eggs. This conduct makes them dangerous, allowing them to spread viruses such as Zika, dengue, malaria and yellow fever, which kill more than a million people a year together.

A promising method of disease control is to release sterile men, raised in laboratories, in the wild. When women mate with these sterile males, they do not produce offspring, gradually shrinking the population without relying on insecticides that harm beneficial insects.

But this approach is technically complex, with a high intensity of labor and costly – limiting its efficiency and scalability.

Now the researchers have taken a major step towards solving this problem. In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesThe team unveiled “Demark” – a genetic system that rationalizes the separation process. The method eliminates the need for manual sorting, multiple reproductive lines or foreign genetic material, which facilitates the production of large lots of non -mobile male mosquitoes.

“This adds a potentially powerful new tool to global mosquito control efforts,” said Austin Compton, one of the main authors of the study. “It’s relatively simple and scalable.”

Research was carried out by scientists from the Biochemistry Department of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Fratin Life Sciences Institute.

About the DeMark system

DEMARK – Short for differential elimination of marked sex chromosomes – uses genetic markers to separate unwanted mosquitoes before reaching adulthood. What remains is a batch of non -mobile males that are not modified with foreign genetic equipment.

To build the system, the researchers combined natural versions and designed in the laboratory mosquito genes, or alleles, which are transmitted by sex chromosomes. When inherited in certain combinations, these alleles make some mosquitoes die early. This integrated backup ensures that unmatched men are produced at each generation and can be easily isolated depending on their lack of marked sex chromosomes.

Unlike other approaches that require the maintenance of several lines of reproduction, Demark works with a single reproductive line, reducing both production costs and complexity.

The team also tested if men raised in the laboratory could compete with wild mosquitoes with regard to mating. They did it – a key factor for any control strategy to succeed outside the laboratory.

“Before these strains could be taken into account for potential release on the ground, more work is necessary to test their stability and their competitiveness under controlled and controlled semi-champ conditions,” said Melanie Hempel, who co-sent research as a doctorate. student and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Virginia Tech.

Addition to the mosquito control toolbox

This study focused on Aedes Aegypti, species of mosquitoes known for the spread of Zika, dengue, Chikungunya and yellow fever. Researchers say that the same approach could potentially be adapted to other species, including Anopheles Gambiae, which transmits malaria.

“This approach can work hand in hand with other mosquito control strategies,” said Zhijian “Jake” Tu, a distinguished professor at the University and the main author of the study. “Our goal is to add options available to the growing toolbox to combat diseases transmitted by mosquitoes in a way that makes sense for different regions and communities of the world.”