Oxitec

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Oxitec Limited is a biotechnology company based in Abingdon , United Kingdom . The company name is an acronym for Oxford Insect Technologies . Hadyn Parry is the company's CEO . In 2015 Oxitec was taken over by the Intrexon Corporation in Germantown (Maryland) / USA.

The company uses a method of controlling insect populations that uses genetically modified insects as a "living insecticide ". The aim is to control insect species that transmit diseases to humans or that occur as harmful insects in agriculture without the use of insecticides. According to the company, this method of population control is more effective and environmentally friendly compared to the use of insecticides. The process is similar to the sterile insect technique (autocidal process).

Transgenic yellow fever mosquito

The yellow fever mosquito ( Aedes aegypti ) is a type of mosquito that also transmits dengue fever and the Zika virus . Oxitec has created genetically modified male animals of the species ( OX513A ) that produce the protein tTA, which negatively affects cell development. The transgenic animals need the antibiotic tetracycline to survive . If these animals are released in large numbers and mate with females, the offspring, to which the addiction to the antibiotic is passed on, dies. This greatly reduces the total mosquito population. For the people in the region concerned, the risk of contracting diseases transmitted by this species is reduced.

Field trials

The first field tests were carried out on Grand Cayman , the largest island in the Cayman Islands , from 2009 with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation . Around 3.3 million transgenic male yellow fever mosquitoes were released. The experiments showed that the animals could survive in this environment and produce offspring. About eleven weeks after the release, the population of yellow fever mosquitoes decreased by about 80%. Larger releases could possibly achieve even better results. The attempts were rated as a success by experts, at the same time various criticisms were made of the communication policy of those involved.

In 2011, another field trial was carried out in Brazil in cooperation with the partner company Moscamed and the University of São Paulo, in which again large numbers of transgenic yellow fever mosquitos were released.

Field tests have been and are also carried out in Malaysia and Panama . A field test is planned in Florida , USA .

Admission

In April 2014, OX513A was approved in Brazil by the Brazilian regulatory authority CTNBio.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Michael Specter: Can genetic modification eliminate a deadly tropical disease? The New Yorker , July 9, 2012, accessed April 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oxitec.com
  3. ↑ http://www.oxitec.com/press-release-intrexon-to-acquire-oxitec-pioneer-of-innovative-insect-control-solutions-addressing-global-challenges/
  4. ^ The Oxitec approach . Oxitech, accessed April 16, 2014.
  5. ^ A b Nidhi Subbaraman: Science snipes at Oxitec transgenic-mosquito trial . In: Nature Biotechnology 29, 2011, pp. 9-11.
  6. ↑ Julia Paoli: Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Pave the Way for Dengue Fever Prevention , published by Nature Publishing Group, September 15, 2014, online at URL: http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/viruses101/are_modified_mosquitoes_the_future
  7. ↑ http://www.genewatch.org/uploads/f03c6d66a9b354535738483c1c3d49e4/Oxitec_GWbrief_Mar15.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.oxitec.com/panama-trial-begins/
  9. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from June 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oxitec.com
  10. ↑ Tracy Thompson: Oxitec's solution for controlling the dengue mosquito is approved by CTNBio. Oxitech, April 11, 2014, accessed April 17, 2014.