CRISPR BASED SYSTEM TO RESTRAIN MOSQUITO VECTORS

CRISPR BASED SYSTEM TO RESTRAIN MOSQUITO VECTORS

Context:

Researchers from California have developed a CRISPR-based system to restrain mosquito vectors via sterilization. It is known as the new precision-guided sterile insect technique or pgSIT.

Functioning of pgSIT:

• pgSIT is a scalable genetic control system that utilizes a CRISPR-based approach to engineer deployable mosquitoes that can suppress populations.
• It alters genes linked to male fertility, creating sterile offspring and female flight in Aedes aegypti.
• pgSIT utilizes CRISPR to sterilize male mosquitoes and render female mosquitoes.

Significant of pgSIT:

• PgSIT eggs can be sent to a mosquito-infested area or developed at a site that can produce eggs for immediate delivery.
• Once the pgSIT eggs have been released from the wild, the sterile male pgSIT will come out and eventually reunite with the females, destroying the wild population as needed.

CRISPR Technology:

• It is a gene-editing technology that can be used for the purpose of altering genetic expression or mutation.
• Technology can be used to pinpoint the exact extension of the entire genetic code or to edit DNA in certain areas.
• It behaves like a cut-and-paste mechanism on DNA strands that contain genetic information.