Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

GM sterile mosquitoes—a cautionary note

Nature Biotechnology volume 24, pages 1067–1068 (2006)Cite this article

A Correspondence to this article was published on 01 September 2006

To the editor:

The article in your November issue by Andrea Crisanti and colleagues (Nat. Biotechnol. 23, 1414–1417, 2005) reported the development of a transgenic strain of Anopheles stephensi, an Asian malaria vector, that the authors suggested may be useful as a sexing strain in a sterile insect technique (SIT) program against this vector. The SIT relies on the release of massive numbers of sterilized male mosquitoes to reduce the reproductive capacity of wild populations that transmit malaria1,2,3,4. Sterile females can still transmit disease, hence the need for efficient sex separation systems. It is beyond doubt, therefore, that this new methodology addresses an important need of mosquito SIT programs currently under development.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Dyck, A.V., Hendrichs, J. & Robinson, A.S. (eds.) The Sterile Insect Technique: Principles and Practice in Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management (Springer, Heidelberg, 2005).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Catteruccia, F. et al. Science 299, 1225–1227 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Andreasen, M. & Curtis, C.F. Med. Vet. Entomol. 19, 238–244 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Franz, G. Genetica 116, 73–84 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Benedict, M. & Robinson, A.S. Trends Parasitol. 19, 349–355 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Scott, T.A., Takken, W., Knols, B.G.J. & Boete, C. Science 298, 117–119.

  7. Alphey, L. et al. Science 298, 119–121 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Takken, W. & Scott, T.A. (eds.) Ecological Aspects for Application of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes. (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2005) <http://library.wur.nl/frontis/malaria/>

    Google Scholar 

  9. Knols, B.G.J. & Louis, C. (eds.) Bridging Laboratory and Field Research for Genetic Control of Disease Vectors (Springer, Berlin, 2005). <http://library.wur.nl/frontis/disease_vectors/>

    Google Scholar 

  10. The Royal Society. Risk Analysis, Perception and Management. Report of the Royal Society Study Group (The Royal Society, London, 1992).

  11. Wynn, B. Global Environ. Change June, 111–127 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Rondinelli, D. Development Projects as Policy Experiments. (Routledge, London & New York, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lusk, J.L. & Rozan, A. Trends Biotechnol. 23, 386–387 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. World Health Organisation. WHO Chronicle 30, 131–139 (1976).

  15. Ison, R.L. Rangeland J. 15, 154–166 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Macer, D. Ethical, Legal and Social Issues of Genetically Modified Disease Vectors in Public Health. TDR/STR/SEB/ST/03.1 (World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Touré, Y.T. & Knols, B.G.J. in Genetically Modified Mosquitoes for Malaria Control (Boëte, C., ed.) (Landes Bioscience, Georgetown, Texas, USA, in the press, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Atkinson, P. Nat. Biotechnol. 23, 1371–1372 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology Unit, FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, A-2444 Seibersdorf, Seibersdorf, Vienna, Austria

    Bart G J Knols, Rebecca C Hood-Nowotny, Hervé Bossin, Gerald Franz & Alan Robinson

  2. University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 29053, Nairobi, Kenya

    Wolfgang R Mukabana & Samuel K Kemboi

Authors
  1. Bart G J Knols
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rebecca C Hood-Nowotny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hervé Bossin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gerald Franz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Alan Robinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Wolfgang R Mukabana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Samuel K Kemboi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Knols, B., Hood-Nowotny, R., Bossin, H. et al. GM sterile mosquitoes—a cautionary note. Nat Biotechnol 24, 1067–1068 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0906-1067

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0906-1067

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing