Mosquito sex change success may open new avenue against dengue fever

Only the female of the species of infection-spreading mosquitoes is a threat to humans – the males do not need to provide for developing eggs by biting us for blood. Our practical exploitation of this fact in a fight against tropical diseases could now be possible following scientists’ discovery of a genetic switch that determines sex in the yellow fever mosquito. The findings, published in Science Express, are from researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. A gene was found to be responsible for sex determination in Aedes aegypti, or yellow fevermosquitoes – the invasive species that can transmit dengue and chikungunya as well as yellow fever viruses. After injection of the gene into mosquito embryos, over two thirds of the female mosquitoes developed male genitals and testes, and after a genetic manipulation technique in male mosquitoes, they developed female genitals. The authors conclude: “This study provides the foundation...