WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The research team from the University of California found that by turning male mosquitoes deaf, they could stop the mating process, which has major implications on the spread of insect-borne diseases.
The mating process of the mosquitoes occur mid-air, where the male mosquito chases down a female mosquito by listening to its wingbeats.
During the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the authors removed a single gene, called trpVA, which is used by male mosquitoes for hearing.
'You could leave them together with the females for days, and they will not mate,' senior author Craig Montell, a neurobiology professor at the University of California Santa Barbara.
The female mosquitoes are responsible for spreading diseases to people, and so by preventing mating process the breeding process will also be controlled.
The researchers used a CRISPR gene editing technique to remove the gene.
'If they can't hear the female wingbeat, they're not interested,' Montell said.
The scientists expect the innovative method will help in controlling the mosquito population.
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