The first outdoor trial of genetically engineered mosquitoes released into the wild in the Florida Keys has concluded. The experiment was done to see if these modified mosquitoes could help suppress disease-spreading mosquito populations.
In this first-of-its-kind study, biotech firm Oxitec placed genetically modified mosquito eggs on private properties in the Florida island chain. These mosquitoes are designed to be males, they do not bite and only male offspring reproduce.
The researchers wanted to see if Oxitec mosquitoes would successfully mate with local insects – if they mate and produce male offspring that don’t just bite, this would reduce the number of wild mosquitoes. It was thought that the transmission of disease from offspring to humans would be stopped by mating with female mosquitoes in the wild and transferring proteins, genetically modified and released male mosquitoes.
A company announcement earlier this month claimed the trial was successful and announced that the data will be further analyzed and published at a later date.
According to Popular Science, Oxitec researchers found that when modified mosquitoes reach adulthood, their flight and exploration behaviors match those of wild mosquitoes. The insects also successfully mated with native female mosquitoes that laid eggs in the Oxitec traps. Researchers collected more than 22,000 eggs to watch them hatch in a lab. Oxitec confirmed that all the eggs were male. The gene that killed the female eggs persisted for only three generations of mosquitoes.
Controversy continues regarding these trials in the Florida Keys. Until this study, genetically engineered mosquitoes had not been tested outdoors in the US, and most Florida Keys residents were less than positive about using their neighborhood as a testing ground. One group even compiled a list of Oxitec’s alleged mistakes in previous experiments, claiming that the company doesn’t track diseases in countries where it releases mosquitoes, doesn’t disclose the price of its technology, and exaggerates the success of other trials.
Key Largo resident Mara Daly, who said she has been following Oxitec’s plans for nine years, told Undark in 2021 that she did not trust this technology and was worried about how mosquitoes would affect their local ecosystems.
Regardless, scientists say they’ve been working on genetically modifying insects to reduce disease transmission for more than a decade. Mosquitoes are the primary target, but researchers have also tried modifying ticks to ward off diseases like Lyme.
It is not yet clear whether Oxitec’s mosquitoes will make a difference to public health. But a local group, the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District, supports Oxitec’s trials. “We’ve dealt with multiple disease outbreaks, so we must do everything we can to protect our people here and the economy,” Andrea Leal, FKMCD’s executive director, told Nature. .”
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