Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Resist Dengue Fever Virus

Mosquitos with engineered versions of Dome or Hop that were then infected with DENV had 78.18% (Dome) and 83.63% (Hop) fewer copies of the virus in their guts, as well as significantly less virus in their salivary glands. Mosquitos with the altered genes had normal lifespans, but produced fewer eggs than normal mosquitos. When the researchers repeated the experiments with Zika virus and chikungunya virus, no impact was seen on infection, suggesting that the importance of the JAK/STAT pathway in the fatbody tissue is unique to DENV.

“It may be possible to achieve improved or total resistance to dengue and other viruses by expressing additional transgenes in multiple tissues that block the virus through different mechanisms,” the researchers write. “Recently developed powerful mosquito gene-drive systems, that are under development, are likely to make it possible to spread pathogen resistance in mosquito populations in a self-propagating fashion, even at a certain fitness cost.”