Eliminating Malaria Vectors with Precision Guided Sterile Males
Here we develop precision guided Sterile Insect Technique (pgSIT) in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae to generate an inducible male-sterilizing and female-eliminating system for use in SIT. Using a binary CRISPR strategy, we cross together separate Cas9 and gRNA transgenic lines which target male-fertility and female-essential genes, and demonstrate >99.5% male sterilization and >99.95% female killing among the hybrid offspring. We demonstrate that these genetically sterilized males have good longevity, high reproductive fitness, and are able to cause population suppression in cage trials, making them candidates for releases.