Genetically engineered mosquitoes may one day be able to wipe out malaria — by infecting their own kind with a debilitating genetic mutation.
Scientists in Terni, Italy, have released a batch of the genetically modified insects in a high-security lab in early February, according to NPR, which was on hand for the controversial experiment.
“This will really be a breakthrough experiment,” said Ruth Mueller, an entomologist who manages the lab. “It’s a historic moment.”
The skeeters are being examined in a lab designed to resemble as close to a natural environment as possible — to eliminate the risk of releasing them into the wild.
Scientists used a gene-editing tool called CRISPR, which Mueller described as a “molecular scissor which can cut at a specific site in the DNA,” to modify the pesky insects’ gene known as “doublesex.” The gene is responsible for sex determination in bugs.
They are engineered with a “gene drive,” which really acts like a “selfish gene,” Mueller said. Normally, traits are passed onto half of their offspring but these mutated bugs will pass traits onto nearly all of their children.
“All the offspring. All the children — the mosquito children — have this modification,” Mueller says.
Mosquitoes that are genetically female will have a mutation that transforms their mouths to resemble those of males — meaning, they won’t be able to bite and and spread the malaria parasite, according NPR.
The hope is that this process will also lead to deformed reproductive organs, thereby sterilizing the bugs so they can’t lay eggs.
If the experiment proves to be safe and successful, the modified mosquitoes could one day be released in Africa, where malaria runs rampant.
The blood disease infected 219 million people and killed 435,000 in 2017, according to the World Health Organization.
Critics warned, however, that the mutated insects could have adverse effects on the environment — such as if they eliminated pollinators.
“This is an experimental technology which could have devastating impacts,” said Dana Perls, of environmental group Friends of the Earth, which is leading the fight against the experimental mosquitoes. “We can’t be taking lightly this extermination technology. We need to slow down. We need to hit the pause button on gene drives.”