Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if authorities grant permission to proceed with an experiment that aims to fight against Dengue and chikungunya, which are primarily spread by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, according to a report in the Sun Sentinel.
British biotech firm Oxitec genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by breeding them with fragments of genes from the herpes simplex virus, E. coli bacteria, coral and cabbage. The synthetic DNA does not kill the mosquitoes or pose a threat to other organisms, but it kills mosquito larvae.
Genetically modified male mosquitoes are released to mate with wild female mosquitoes whose offspring would die, eventually reducing the overall mosquito population.
In a 2012 experiment in the Cayman Islands, 3.3 million genetically modified mosquitoes were released and reduced the wild mosquito population by 96 percent in six months.
The experiment faces strong local opposition from those worried about the unintended effects genetically modified mosquitoes would have on local wildlife. More than 130,000 people have signed a Change.org petition against the experiment.
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