Are transgenic malaria mosquitoes a remedy for the disease?
A mathematical treatment concluded that Medea and Wolbachia bacteria present the best compromise between invasiveness and containment of the gene drives being considered for the control of mosquito born diseases [9]. Another view was put forward by Johns Hopkins University researcher Jason L. Rasgon, who stated [10]: Replacement of wild-type mosquito populations with genetically modified versions is being explored as a potential strategy to control vector-borne diseases. Due to lower expected relative fitness of transgenic individuals, transgenes must be driven into populations for these scenarios to be successful. Several gene drive mechanisms exist in a theoretical sense but none are currently workable in mosquitoes. Even if strategies were workable, it would be very difficult to recall released transgenes in the event of unforeseen consequences. However, commenting on a method called Multi-locus assortment that spreads transgenes into vector populations by the release of genetically
