Oxitec Limited, 71 Milton Park, Oxford OX14 4RX, United Kingdom.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 9;107(10):4550-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1000251107. Epub 2010 Feb 22.
Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever are increasing public health problems with an estimated 50-100 million new infections each year. Aedes aegypti is the major vector of dengue viruses in its range and control of this mosquito would reduce significantly human morbidity and mortality. Present mosquito control methods are not sufficiently effective and new approaches are needed urgently. A "sterile-male-release" strategy based on the release of mosquitoes carrying a conditional dominant lethal gene is an attractive new control methodology. Transgenic strains of Aedes aegypti were engineered to have a repressible female-specific flightless phenotype using either two separate transgenes or a single transgene, based on the use of a female-specific indirect flight muscle promoter from the Aedes aegypti Actin-4 gene. These strains eliminate the need for sterilization by irradiation, permit male-only release ("genetic sexing"), and enable the release of eggs instead of adults. Furthermore, these strains are expected to facilitate area-wide control or elimination of dengue if adopted as part of an integrated pest management strategy.
登革热和登革出血热是日益严重的公共卫生问题，估计每年有 5000 万至 1 亿例新感染。埃及伊蚊是其范围内登革病毒的主要传播媒介，控制这种蚊子将显著降低人类发病率和死亡率。目前的蚊虫控制方法不够有效，迫切需要新的方法。基于释放携带条件显性致死基因的蚊子的“不育雄蚊释放”策略是一种有吸引力的新控制方法。使用来自埃及伊蚊肌动蛋白 4 基因的雌性特异性间接飞行肌启动子，利用两个独立的转基因或单个转基因，对埃及伊蚊进行了工程改造，使其具有可抑制的雌性特异性无飞行表型。这些品系消除了通过辐照绝育的需要，允许仅释放雄性（“遗传性别鉴定”），并能够释放卵而不是成虫。此外，如果将这些品系作为综合虫害管理策略的一部分采用，预计将有助于在区域范围内控制或消除登革热。
