Female Aedes mosquitoes are prime culprits in transmitting diseases like yellow fever and dengue. Researchers have been finding for a logical end for this issue and came out with one solution of amending sex change strategy. Going to the genetic level was one way to make this possible.
In this action, scientists have identified that the Aedes aegypti embryos male resides on chromosome 1 which was termed as M locus. Due to the presence of repetitive DNA, it was a great challenge for researchers to sequence that region. After an intense search among various strains of both sexes, they have identified 164 sequences where they could match against the data. In the 24 sequences that remained, they found one new gene, which they named Nix.
Though various research organizations have developed strategies like offspring killing genes, scientists are now having tons of hope on this novel research policy though it is in a nascent stage. Scientists are also aiming to push a pint pointed genes into the next generation at precision guided frequency where they can couple with the Nix to spread the male genes which would eventually lead to population crash. Such strategies are certainly building hope among researches to pave new goals but provided they should be controlled and checked before implementation.
