Virginia Tech researchers successfully used a gene¹ disruption technique to change the eye color of a mosquito -- a critical step toward new genetic² strategies aimed at disrupting the transmission of diseases such as dengue fever（登革热）. Zach Adelman and Kevin Myles, both associate professors of entomology（昆虫学） in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and affiliated³ researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute, study the transmission of vector-borne diseases and develop novel methods of control, based on genetics.

 

In a groundbreaking study published this week in the journal PLOS One, the scientists used a pair of engineered proteins to cut DNA⁴ in a site-specific manner to disrupt a targeted gene in the mosquito genome. Science magazine heralded⁵ these transcription activator-like effector nuclease proteins, known as TALENS, as a major scientific breakthrough in 2012, nicknaming them "genomic cruise missiles" for their ability to allow researchers to target specific locations with great efficiency.

 

While TALENS have been previously⁶ used to edit the genomes of animal and human cell cultures, applying them to the mosquito genome is a new approach, according to Adelman.

 

"Unlike model organisms with large collections of mutant strains to draw upon, the lack of reverse genetic tools in the mosquito has made it is very difficult to assign functions to genes⁷ in a definitive⁸ manner," Adelman said. "With the development of this technology, our understanding of the genetic basis of many critical behaviors such as blood-feeding, host-seeking and pathogen transmission should be greatly accelerated."

 

To test the capability⁹ of TALENs to specifically edit the mosquito genome, the scientists designed a pair of TALENS to target a gene whose protein product is essential to the production of eye pigmentation（染色） in Aedes aegypti, a mosquito species known for its transmission of the viruses that cause dengue fever.

 

Using the TALEN pair to edit the gene in the mosquito's germ cells early in development, they were able to change the eye color of a large percentage of the mosquitoes arising in the next generation from black to white.

 

"To date, efforts to control dengue transmission through genetics have focused entirely¹⁰ on adding material to the mosquito genome. Ensuring that this added material is expressed properly and consistently has been a challenge," Adelman said. "This technology allows us to pursue the same goals, namely, the generation of pathogen-resistant mosquitoes, through subtraction¹¹. For example, removing or altering a gene that is critical for pathogen replication."

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