Researchers have come up with a method to control mosquito populations. This new method might also provide an alternative to insecticides. In a new study, published on Monday (Jul 22) in Communications Biology, researchers at Virginia Tech said that understanding the sex determination pathway and its disruptions in mosquitoes can play a vital role in the effective control of disease vectors through genetic manipulations based on sex separation.
The study, titled “Hybridization between Aedes aegypti and Aedes mascarensis mosquitoes leads to disruption of male sex determination”, analysed the genetic basis of species incompatibility by crossing Aedes aegypti with Aedes mascarensis. Aedes aegypti is a primary vector for global arboviral diseases like dengue. Aedes mascarensis are from the Indian Ocean.
The research said that about 10 per cent of the progeny became intersex and were unable to reproduce when the hybrid offspring were crossed back with one parent.
The researchers found that these intersex mosquitoes express both male and female genes, giving them mixed morphological features even though they are genetically male.
The researchers now hope to reduce the number of mosquitoes by using this study to create all-male communities and removing females from the population.
They believe that a better understanding of mosquito genetics may result in more efficient control measures for diseases like dengue, yellow fever, Chikungunya and Zika. It might help slow down the infection rate globally.
As quoted in media reports, Igor Sharakhov, one of the researchers on the project, said, “This study can help identify new sex determination pathway genes that can be used in mosquito control strategies.”
“We studied the hybridization of two mosquito species, found that intersex individuals have disrupted sex determination pathways, and identified sex-specific gene expressions,” said Sharakhov.
The researchers concluded that the evolving hybrid incompatibilities between Aedes aegypti and Aedes mascarensis involve disruption of sex determination and are accompanied by changes in gene expression associated with sexual differentiation.
(With inputs from agencies)