L'objectif de départ est intéressant... Ce moustique transmet aux autres un gène qui meurent avant d'atteindre l'âge adulte. Bien si on pense qu'on pourra limiter les épidémies pour les agriculteurs ou éventuellement réduire les risques de propagation de la malaria. Inquiétant si on pense aux retombées possibles pour l'humain. La Floride aimerait début les expérimentations en décembre.
"The study published on Sunday looked at how successfully the lab-reared, genetically modified insects could mate. About 19,000 engineered mosquitoes were released over four weeks in 2009 in a 25-acre area on Grand Cayman island.
Based on data from traps, the genetically engineered males accounted for 16 percent of the overall male population in the test zone, and the lethal gene was found in almost 10 percent of larvae. Those figures suggest the genetically engineered males were about half as successful in mating as wild ones, a rate sufficient to suppress the population.
Oxitec has already said a larger trial on Grand Cayman island in 2010 reduced the population of the targeted mosquito by 80 percent for three months. That work has not yet been published.
Dr. Alphey said the technique was safe because only males were released, while only females bite people and spread the disease, adding that it should have little environmental impact. “It’s exquisitely targeted to the specific organism you are trying to take out,” he said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/science/concerns-raised-about-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25
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