March 29, 2024

Ela Selin Akgün 

11th Grade

Işıkkent High School

The US Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA, is an institution responsible for the protection of human, public, and environmental health within the United States, utilizing tactics such as including the regulation of pesticide usage, marketing of chemicals, and cleaning up chemically contaminated lands to safeguard the environment. 

The EPA has authorized the use of OX5034 GM Ae. aegypti mosquitoes for release in counties in Florida and Texas. Genetic modification is a process of altering the gene sequence of an organism with laboratory-based technologies by using methods like nucleotide insertion, deletions, and gene replacements. 

Ae. aegypti, also regarded as the Yellow fever mosquito, is known for spreading several viruses like the yellow fever virus, dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and Zika virus. They are also considered an invasive species, spread worldwide via shipping and sea trade. However, genetic modification of this mosquito mass produces them to carry two different genes: a self-limiting gene and a fluorescent marker gene. The self-limiting gene prevents female mosquitoes from growing and surviving until adulthood; unlike male mosquitos who only feed on nectars, female mosquitoes can bite. On the other hand, the fluorescent marker gene makes mosquitoes glow under red light, therefore scientists can differentiate them in nature. They are first modified in the laboratories and after the required tests, released into the wild. Since female mosquitos do not survive, male mosquitoes mate with the wild females and pass the gene to the offspring. 

Genetically modifying this species lets scientists and public health experts control the diseases and viruses these mosquitoes spread. Since 2019 over 1 billion GMMs (Genetically Modified Mosquitoes) have been released to areas such as Brazil, Panama, and India to control the population, which has had positive results and managed to stabilize the population to normal conditions. 

However, the risk of this is that a reduction in Ae. aegypti population might affect the food web and biodiversity within the released area, as the predators that feed on Ae. aegypti may lose a food source, resulting in a share in ecological niches. Other than that, these mosquitoes do not pose any health risks to humans, as tested by The EPA.