Instead of creating new types of pesticides or machines to eliminate the abundance of disease-carrying mosquitoes, a group of researchers from Australia have engineered ‘Toxic Male’ mosquitoes to fulfill and finish the job. The idea behind it is that male mosquitoes do not bite humans, and thus do not transmit the disease that can harm humans but are looking to mate with female ones for reproduction.
By making the male mosquitoes the bearer of diseases that are fatal to female species, they are essentially the natural pesticides that can end their reign of terror, especially in areas or regions that have a high abundance of these pests.
‘Toxic Male’ Mosquitoes Engineered to Infect Female Mates
Researchers from Macquarie University in Australia introduced a new ‘biological pest control’ which is targeting a way to reduce mosquito reproduction by using the new approach called ‘Toxic Male Technique’ (TMT) on male mosquitoes. This was done by the researchers by engineering male mosquitoes to carry a fatal venom that they can transmit to female mosquitoes when they are mating.
Instead of the traditional chemical or natural pesticides that are sprayed or installed in several locations, as well as using machines to kill or trap these pests, they are using the male species to transmit the fatal substance to their mates.
According to the study, species like Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae, only the females bite humans and transmit diseases as they are the ones that require blood to produce eggs. These mosquitoes are known for spreading deadly diseases to humans like dengue, malaria, chikungunya, yellow fever, and the Zika virus.
Read Also:
South Florida Now Uses Mosquito-Fighting Drone to Curb Vector-Borne Diseases
Researchers Use TMT as Natural Pesticides
It is known that the use of pesticides has lost its effect over the years, particularly as mosquitoes have grown resistant to its effects and are causing the ‘non-targets’ harm instead of the disease-carrying pests. According to the researchers, TMT offers a way to kill off females and hinder their reproduction to produce more offspring, male and female alike, with those that mated during a laboratory experiment using fruit flies shortened the females’ lifespan by 37 to 64 percent.
The researchers engineered the male mosquitoes, using TMT, to produce ‘insect-specific venom’ proteins in their semen, which they can transmit to female mosquitoes during mating and weaken them.
“By targeting the female mosquitoes themselves rather than their offsprings, TMT is the first biocontrol technology that could work as quickly as pesticides without also harming beneficial species,” said the study’s lead author, Sam Beach.
Mosquitoes Bring Deadly Diseases to Humans
Mosquitoes have been one of the top carriers of deadly diseases and viruses to humans, and they do so efficiently as they bite to suck blood from people who transmit the illness directly into the bloodstream. While there are countries in the world where these kinds of diseases are still not present, experts believe that these untouched regions may face a new plague.
There had been massive efforts towards foiling this form of disease transmission through mosquitoes, and a previous development in Honduras looked to use the Wolbachia bacteria to stop the spread of the dengue virus.
Moreover, there is also an artificial intelligence technology used in Africa to monitor mosquitoes and help fight against the rampant spread of malaria in the continent, as part of their prevention process.
Related Article:
Bzigo Iris: The Innovative AI Gadget for Home Mosquito Control
