Crampton J M
Wolfson Unit of Molecular Genetics, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1994 Mar-Apr;88(2):141-3. doi: 10.1016/0035-9203(94)90266-6.
Insect vector control has proved an effective method of reducing the transmission of disease-causing organisms to human populations in many tropical countries. A variety of methods has been employed for suppressing vector populations, including the application of biological control agents and the elimination of breeding sites, with a continuing and heavy reliance on the use of chemical insecticides. However, the development of insecticide resistance by vector insects, the cost of developing and registering new insecticidal compounds, and the increase in legislation to combat the detrimental effects of insecticidal residues on the environment, have emphasized the need to assess a variety of alternatives to vector control. What is required is a completely novel approach either to suppress vector populations, or to alter their ability to transmit disease-causing organisms in such a way as to have a profound and long-lasting effect on disease transmission. Genetic manipulation of insect vectors may provide just such an approach. The major requirements for being able to manipulate the genomes of insects are reviewed together with the progress which has been made to create transgenic vector insects. The potential applications of this technology are then explored, emphasizing that its most immediate use will be as an analytical tool. Finally, the feasibility of creating refractory vector strains by genetic manipulation and releasing them into the environment is assessed in relation to its future use as a disease control strategy.
在许多热带国家，昆虫病媒控制已被证明是减少致病生物体向人类传播的有效方法。人们采用了多种方法来抑制病媒种群，包括应用生物控制剂和消除繁殖地，并且持续大量依赖化学杀虫剂的使用。然而，病媒昆虫对杀虫剂产生抗药性、开发和注册新杀虫化合物的成本以及为应对杀虫残留物对环境的有害影响而增加的立法，都凸显了评估病媒控制多种替代方法的必要性。需要的是一种全新的方法，要么抑制病媒种群，要么改变它们传播致病生物体的能力，从而对疾病传播产生深远而持久的影响。对昆虫病媒进行基因操作可能提供这样一种方法。本文综述了能够操纵昆虫基因组的主要要求以及在创建转基因病媒昆虫方面所取得的进展。然后探讨了该技术的潜在应用，强调其最直接的用途将是作为一种分析工具。最后，评估了通过基因操作创建难治性病媒品系并将其释放到环境中作为未来疾病控制策略的可行性。
