In a recent PNAS publication by Buchman et al (2019), the authors report on the establishment and validation of transgenic Aedes aegypti containing a synthetic anti-ZIKV cassette, capable of conferring complete refractoriness to the virus. Aided by piggyBac transposon-mediated insertion […]
aegypti
Conditions for Successful Underdominance Gene Drive
Edgington and Alphey (2017) report their modeling efforts in the Journal of Theoretical Biology on conditions under which engineered underdominance gene drive systems could result in successful population replacement. Underdominance refers to a situation where heterozygotes are selected against within […]
Cre/lox-Recombinase-Mediated Cassette Exchange in Aedes aegypti
Häcker et al 2017 reports the use of Cre/lox Recombination-Mediated Cassette Exchange (RMCE) in Aedes aegypti providing a pathway for interrogating specific genomic locations for the use of transgenic constructs in future genetic control methods. Häcker et al 2017 first generated […]
Finding Enhancers in Mosquitoes and Beyond
This post was written by Joseph Sarro and Keshava Mysore In a recent paper published in BMC Genomics, Behura and Sarro et al. (2016) report on the use of FAIRE-seq, formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements paired with DNA sequencing, for […]
Active CRISPR guide-design: Still somewhat of a black box
To add to the growing knowledge base for gRNA design, Wong et al (2015) revisit the data generated by Doench et al (2014), which employed a lentivirus library to screen >1800 sgRNA for activity in mouse EL4 cells. The authors […]
Carbon Quantum Dots for dsRNA Delivery
Das et al. (2015) in Applied Materials & Interfaces compare chitosan, silica and carbon quantum dot nanoparticles as dsRNA delivery platforms for silencing genes in larval mosquitoes. Direct injection of dsRNA into the hemocoel of insects has been somewhat effective […]
More Aedes Editing – More Insights
In a recent PLoS One paper, Dong et al. (2015) describe their successful attempts to edit the genome of Aedes aegypti using CRISPR/Cas9. As proof of principle, they aimed to excise a portion of a transgene that codes for enhanced […]
More Mosquito Genome Editing – With Instructions
Kistler et al. have just published the results of their extensive use of CRISPR/Cas9-based knock-out and knock-in technology in Aedes aegypti in Cell Reports and anyone considering using these technologies in insects will find this paper of interest. The authors […]
GAL4-UAS in Aedes aegypti
In a just-published paper Zhao et al. (2014) reported the development and testing of a gut-specific blood-driven carboxypeptidase (CP) Gal4 driver line of Ae. aegypti. The CP-Gal4 driver was contained within a piggyBac transposable element and was composed of the […]
How to Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes – The Right Way
Insect genetic technologies are enabling researchers to conceive of new ways to control insects and to improve on established control methods. In mosquitoes there have been a number of ideas for using genetic technologies to reduce mosquito populations or to […]