Editing the DNA of the Zika-transmitting mosquito might be a way to wipe out the species entirely and thus stop the spread of the disease—but caution should be exercised in any such move, according to Flaminia Catteruccia, associate professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
There’s great urgency to stop the spread of Zika because it’s thought to be linked with an alarming rise in microcephaly, a birth defect that causes small heads and underdeveloped brains. Using a new gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, biologists could edit the DNA of the Aedes aegypti mosquito—which also transmits dengue and chikungunya viruses—and use a process known as gene drive to decimate the mosquito population.
But in a Boston Globe editorial on February 12, 2016, Catteruccia said, “It’s very important to test [a gene drive] a lot in the lab before it’s released. It’s also critical to have a system in place to ‘withdraw’ the gene drive to reverse any unforeseen damage. A contingency plan has to be ready.”
Read the Boston Globe editorial: Messing with Mother Nature to stop the Zika virus
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