Researchers develop temperature-controlled gene-editing method to potentially improve efforts to control disease-carrying insects
New research presents promising results from an innovative technique that utilizes temperature control to genetically engineer sterile populations of insects, such as mosquitoes responsible for diseases like malaria, dengue, and other vector-borne illnesses.
Led by researchers at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, the Nature Communications publication leverages historical and traditional sterilization insect techniques (SIT) and applies an innovative method that can be scaled for larger population protection.
Used for decades, traditional SITs include releasing large numbers of sterile males into mosquito populations so that when they mate with wild females, no viable offspring are produced. CRISPR/Cas9-based methods have proven challenging as they require breeding two separate lines of engineered insects and carefully sorting those insects to produce and release only sterile males.
Led by principal investigator Victor Lopez Del Amo, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, and Christina Nguyen, a research technician, who carried out most of the experiments, this promising method aims to simplify the traditional SIT by harnessing a gene-editing tool called CRISPR-Cas12a that can generate male sterility and female lethality in a temperature-controlled manner. Cas12a can be engineered to be inactive at lower temperatures and active at higher temperatures. This property enabled the team to develop a single genetically modified insect strain that possesses the genetic composition necessary to disrupt key fertility and reproductive genes.
“This advancement has the potential to add flexibility and precision to sterile insect technologies, paving the way for long-term practical solutions to address global agricultural and public health challenges,” said Lopez Del Amo.
At lower temperatures, Cas12a remains dormant, allowing the engineered insects to be bred and maintained normally as a mixed population of males and females. When the genetically modified insects are exposed to higher temperatures, Cas12a becomes active and edits genes that cause male sterility and female infertility or lethality. The result is a generation of sterile males, eliminating the need to separate breeding lines or sex-sorting.
In laboratory tests with fruit flies, the researchers confirmed and created sterile males after one generation, when temperatures were higher, and maintained healthy mixed populations when temperatures were lower. This innovative platform offers a safer and more efficient approach to genetic pest control.
Because it simplifies production and can be scaled more easily than current SITs, this temperature-sensitive CRISPR-Cas12a system may offer a promising new tool for reducing populations of disease-spreading insects, thereby supporting global efforts to combat vector-borne disease transmission.