Genetic Control of Mosquitoes

Abstract

The history of the genetic control of mosquitoes goes back about half a century when Knipling (1959) realised that the fertility of monogamous female organisms could be readily compromised as a result of mating with a sterile male. Since that time, the development of the science and technology that supports this approach for mosquito control has accelerated greatly, in line with very rapid progress in the field of genomics and in other disciplines, such as health care and agriculture. The term “genetic control” actually covers a range of technologies and strategies (Schetelig and Wimmer 2011; Alphey 2014) but is distinguished from all other methods of mosquito control by its species specificity (Scott and Benedict 2015). This minimises the environmental impact, but it is only effective when a single species causes the harm, e.g. when an invasive species such as Ae. albopictus in an island-like occurrence has to be controlled. However, genetic control should always be considered as a component of an integrated mosquito control strategy.