GM mosquitos

[mrhnau]

Read this in Slashdot yesterday.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1344252

These GM insects carry a gene that prevents them from being infected by the malaria parasite and has the added benefit of providing a fitness advantage to the mosquitoes.

BTW, GM = Genetically modified

Well, in my graduate studies, we discussed this concept alot. You can design new things, but you really don't have a clear idea of the potential downstream consequences. For instance, you make a more hardy version of mosquitos, a potential consequence may be that this makes it more difficult for pesticides to kill them, making the spread of other blood born diseases more common. Getting rid of malaria is clearly a good thing, but is this worth the risk? Are we really at the point where we can start introducing GM creatures into the environment? We are doing this with crops, but crops don't clearly have a high risk factor of spreading diseases. Introductions of new species into new environments has not always had the best results in the past. Can we clearly say that this introduction will do much better?

 

[terryl965]

Wow when you said GM mosquitos, I thought they was giving out Grand Master certificate to anything now.

 

[mrhnau]

Wow when you said GM mosquitos, I thought they was giving out Grand Master certificate to anything now.

LOL! Mosquito style! You hop around and poke your opponent until they get sick!

 

[terryl965]

LOL! Mosquito style! You hop around and poke your opponent until they get sick!

LMAO

 

[JBrainard]

Read this in Slashdot yesterday.
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/20/1344252



BTW, GM = Genetically modified

Well, in my graduate studies, we discussed this concept alot. You can design new things, but you really don't have a clear idea of the potential downstream consequences. For instance, you make a more hardy version of mosquitos, a potential consequence may be that this makes it more difficult for pesticides to kill them, making the spread of other blood born diseases more common. Getting rid of malaria is clearly a good thing, but is this worth the risk? Are we really at the point where we can start introducing GM creatures into the environment? We are doing this with crops, but crops don't clearly have a high risk factor of spreading diseases. Introductions of new species into new environments has not always had the best results in the past. Can we clearly say that this introduction will do much better?

I'm all for genetic modification. BUT, the point I highlighted above is a very good one. Introduction of a new species into a new environment (with the exception of domesticated animals) almost always does damage to said environment. I think it's better to be safe than sorry, and not release the uber mosquitos into the wild.

Wow when you said GM mosquitos, I thought they was giving out Grand Master certificate to anything now.

See, as a testement to how much of a dork I am, my first reaction was "game master" mosquitos. I wonder how a mosquito would run a D&D session...

 

[Cryozombie]

I thought you guys meant General Motors and it was an Electric Car.

This reminds me of the attempt to "breed out" killer bees... didn't work so well, made a big mess.

That said, Currently I think this is a better solution than the previous one they came up with... I remember a study where they had found a way to attract large quantities of mosquitos and sterilized them with radiation as a form of population control, and IIRC it had to be banned, because it was too effective and affecting the food chain in a negative fashion... somthing like reducing the number of eggs in test samples from the normal hundreds of thousands to ZERO.
[SIZE=-1][/SIZE]
So... I think id prefer genetically altered Skeets to dead birds, fish and bats.
​

 

[mrhnau]

I thought you guys meant General Motors and it was an Electric Car.

This reminds me of the attempt to "breed out" killer bees... didn't work so well, made a big mess.

That said, Currently I think this is a better solution than the previous one they came up with... I remember a study where they had found a way to attract large quantities of mosquitos and sterilized them with radiation as a form of population control, and IIRC it had to be banned, because it was too effective and affecting the food chain in a negative fashion... somthing like reducing the number of eggs in test samples from the normal hundreds of thousands to ZERO.

So... I think id prefer genetically altered Skeets to dead birds, fish and bats.
​

I'll agree with that. The only problem is, I'm used to going out for a weekend and getting a sting or two. With increased populations, I don't want to go out and get a few hundred stings! Maybe it would be good for animals further up the food chain though. You just can't fully evaluate the equation, you know?

I honestly don't think it should be done. Once they are released, there will be no getting them back. If we do make a mistake, its something we will have to live with for generations...

 

[Carol]

See, as a testement to how much of a dork I am, my first reaction was "game master" mosquitos. I wonder how a mosquito would run a D&D session...

Well, they are super-duper mosquitos. They level up faster

 

[Blindside]

Many people are pointing out the possible long term consequences of this sort of genetic modification. I'd risk it, malaria has probably killed more people than any other disease out there, and is responsible for the deaths of 2.7 MILLION people.... humans per year.

The only fitness advantage the GM mosquito has is its immunity to malaria it is not "more fit" with regard to pesticides or the like. "Fitness" in the biological sense refers to being succesful under certain environmental pressures, if the environmental pressures change, your genetics become "less fit." If you don't have malaria in your area, there will be an equal number of mosquitos as there ever were. If you do have malaria, the mosquito population will move toward the genetic resistant strains and you will still have the same number of mosquitos, but now they mostly don't transmit malaria.

If malaria manages to change and get around the immunity you are simply back at square one. It doesn't become a "super-malaria" with regard to its potential to kill humans. So that is your option, keep the status quo where you are "only" sacrificing 2.7 MILLION humans a year, or take a risk.

Lamont

 

[mrhnau]

The only fitness advantage the GM mosquito has is its immunity to malaria it is not "more fit" with regard to pesticides or the like. "Fitness" in the biological sense refers to being succesful under certain environmental pressures, if the environmental pressures change, your genetics become "less fit." If you don't have malaria in your area, there will be an equal number of mosquitos as there ever were. If you do have malaria, the mosquito population will move toward the genetic resistant strains and you will still have the same number of mosquitos, but now they mostly don't transmit malaria.

If malaria manages to change and get around the immunity you are simply back at square one. It doesn't become a "super-malaria" with regard to its potential to kill humans. So that is your option, keep the status quo where you are "only" sacrificing 2.7 MILLION humans a year, or take a risk.

Um, not exactly... from the article

The modified mosquitoes had a higher survival rate and laid more eggs

I don't know exactly how many more eggs, or how they achieve this higher survival rate. Apparently, what they changed to make the mosquito malaria resistant was significant, not just a simple gene knockout or insertion. The article also linked to a GM crop article, I'll post it here

ttp://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/15/1426236&tid=191

it appears that a variety of genetically modified maize produced by Monsanto is toxic for the liver and kidneys. What's worse, Monsanto knew about it and tried to conceal the facts in its own publications.

Basically, my stance is that GM crops and organisms is still in its infancy. I'm just worried that we can't predict whats going to happen. We might be able to lessen the effects of malaria in certain parts of the world, but what if this modification makes mosquitos able to carry the AIDS virus? Or the sheer number of new mosquitos increases the likelyhood of other disease transmission?

 

[Blindside]

I don't know exactly how many more eggs, or how they achieve this higher survival rate. Apparently, what they changed to make the mosquito malaria resistant was significant, not just a simple gene knockout or insertion. The article also linked to a GM crop article, I'll post it here

ttp://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/15/1426236&tid=191

Actually the next sentence in the article is the important one:

However, when both sets of insects were fed non-infected blood they competed equally well.

The fitness advantage is because of the introduction of malaria, without malaria present they are equally fit. Fitness is a relative term based on environmental pressure.

As an example, you have 50 larval "normal" mosquitoes and 50 larval "GM."
Assume normal mortality is 50% before reproduction. Lets assume that 50% of the population is female and that each female that reaches reproductive age lays 10 eggs that successfully hatch, and insects do not live beyond their generation.

Without malaria the two are equally fit, so their population cycles will remain the same.
Gen 1: Normal mosquitoes - 13 (rounded) females make it to successfully reproduce, each have 10 successful offspring, resulting in 130 members of the next generation.
Gen 2: Normal mosquitoes - 65 females make it to breed, so you have 650 eggs for the next generation.
In a situation without malaria, the GM mosquitoes are growing at exactly the same rate for every generation, so the percentages of each genotype will remain exactly the same between generations.

Lets introduce malaria. Lets assume malaria introduces an additive mortality rate of 20% on the normal mosquitoes.
Gen 1: Normal mosquitoes - 10 females make it to successfully reproduce (25 females to start, 50% environmental mortality =12.5, 20% malaria morality = 10)
10 females produce 10 successful eggs into the next generation.
Gen 1: GM mosquitoes produce 130 successful eggs into the next generation, same as in the "no malaria" example.

Gen 2: Normal mosquitoes have 20 females producing 200 eggs.
Gen 2: GM mosquitoes have 26 females producing 260 eggs.
etc.

So in every generation GM mosqutoes produce more eggs when malaria is present because they do not suffer additive mortality from malaria.

Or the sheer number of new mosquitos increases the likelyhood of other disease transmission?

The total number of mosquitos doesn't change, the higher survival rate is only in comparison to the malaria susceptible genotype. Other environmental factors that limit mosquito populations are still in place.

As for the scare tactic about AIDS, please, normal mutation rates and the sheer variety of already existing mosquito species is far more likely to come up with a suitable host than making a single protein change.

Lamont

 

[mrhnau]

The fitness advantage is because of the introduction of malaria, without malaria present they are equally fit. Fitness is a relative term based on environmental pressure.

In short, you are right. should have read a bit more carefully :asian: