A confinable female-lethal population suppression system in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae
Background
Malaria is among the world’s deadliest diseases, predominantly affecting Sub-Saharan Africa and killing over half a million people annually. Controlling the principal vector, the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, as well as other anophelines, is among the most effective methods to control disease spread. Here, we develop a genetic population suppression system termed Ifegenia (inherited female elimination by genetically encoded nucleases to interrupt alleles) in this deadly vector. In this bicomponent CRISPR-based approach, we disrupt a female-essential gene, femaleless (fle), demonstrating complete genetic sexing via heritable daughter gynecide.
Smidler, A. L., Pai, J. J., Apte, R. A., Sánchez C, H. M., Corder, R. M., Jeffrey Gutiérrez, E., … & Akbari, O. S. (2023). A confinable female-lethal population suppression system in the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae. Science Advances, 9(27), eade8903.