Why in the news?

• Leveraging advancements in CRISPR-based genetic engineering, researchers have created a system that restrains populations of mosquitoes that infect millions each year with debilitating diseases.

What is CRISPR Technology:

• “CRISPR” stands for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.
• CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes. It allows researchers to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function. Its many potential applications include correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases and improving crops.

Application of CRISPR Technology in Mosquito Control:

• The “precision-guided sterile insect technique” (pgSIT), alters genes linked to male fertility, creating sterile offspring. And in turn, it will make the female breed Aedes aegypti flightless.
• The  Aedes aegypti mosquito species responsible for spreading diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika.
• The pgSIT eggs can be shipped to a location threatened by mosquito-borne disease or developed at an on-site facility that could produce the eggs for nearby deployment.
• Once the pgSIT eggs are released in the wild, sterile pgSIT males will emerge and eventually mate with females, driving down the wild population as needed.

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/new-tech-based-on-crispr-to-control-growth-of-mosquitoes-7504710/