Mosquitoes are the vector for the parasitic disease malaria. In recent years, scientists like Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Donald Bren Professor Anthony James have been exploring new genetic-based approaches to control the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Professor James and his collaborators have come closer to applying their genetically modified mosquitoes to real-world applications.

Professor James has been working on a revolutionary malaria-resistant mosquito for many years. The creation of the new breed of mosquito was made possible due to the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing method. The method has allowed Professor James to introduce a new DNA element into the Anopheles gambiae mosquito to help slow the spread of malaria.

In the new study, Professor James and his team have demonstrated that their gene-editing system achieves essential target product profile requirements for efficacy and performance. They found that their system can reach 98 to 100% integration in both male and female mosquitoes. Full introduction into a test population was observed in small cage trials within 6 to 10 generations following a single release of gene-drive males. In addition, the team found that only one predicted off-target site was cleaved in vitro, with negligible off-targeted cleavage in vivo. Their gene-editing system could very well be an effective way to control malaria transmission and thus has the potential to save millions of people from this devastating disease.