Molecular Biology
Our molecular biology teams are focused on developing the initial stages of the gene drive technology.
Our molecular biology teams are focused on developing the initial stages of the gene drive technology. We start from discovering and understanding the type of genetic modifications we need to introduce into the mosquito’s genome to generate the desired effect. For instance, we study which genes are important for the reproduction of the mosquito and what happens when those genes are turned off.
We then use cutting edge technology to edit those genes in the lab, using for example CRISPR/Cas9, and study the effect of the modification on the modified mosquito. Using modern molecular biology tools, we assemble in the lab the molecular components needed to build a gene drive, and introduce it very specifically into the mosquito genome. This can be done for instance by cutting specific DNA sequences of the gene we want to modify.
How we generate genetically modified mosquitoes
To generate genetically modified mosquitoes, we first assemble in the lab the molecular components and the DNA we want to introduce into the mosquito genome. Under a microscope, with the help of very thin needles, we inject the DNA into the mosquito embryos in the very first hours after deposition. We have to inject hundreds or thousands of individual embryos to generate one type of modification.
Together with the DNA of the gene of interest, we also introduce the gene for a fluorescent marker that will make the mosquito glow under a fluorescent microscope to identify which mosquitoes are modified. Gene sequencing or other techniques, such as PCR, are also used to verify the modification was successful.
