Saturday, December 24, 2011 Releasing Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Poses Unknown Risks To Florida Aedes Aegypti mosquito - CDC/Wiki image Brandon Turbeville Activist Post A recent announcement made by a UK-based biotechnology company known as Oxitec has caused quite a stir in some Florida communities as of late. This is because Oxitec plans to release 5,000 to 10,000 genetically modified mosquitoes over an as-of-yet undisclosed 36-acre block in the Florida Keys, most likely Key West near the Key West Cemetery. The experiment is being presented to the public under the guise of an attempt to eradicate mosquito-borne illnesses, specifically Dengue fever.
The mosquitoes have been genetically modified to survive only in the presence of tetracycline, a commonly used form of antibiotic, and the stated goal for these mosquitoes, which are strictly males, is that they will mate with natural females, pass on their tetracycline-dependent traits to the offspring, and then die themselves. The idea is that an entire generation of mosquitoes will die off as a result of this process.
What has environmentalists, GMO opponents, and a large variety of Floridians up in arms, however, are the numerous questions that such an experiment raises. For instance, as Eric Hoffman of Friends of the Earth asks, “What are the ecological risks of released GE mosquitoes including the risk of disrupting food chains or providing a new ecological niche more dangerous insects to take the place of Aedes Aegypti (the type of mosquito believed to be associated with Dengue Fever)?” The fact is we simply do not know what kind of effects releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into a natural setting will have.
Furthermore, even if the experiment is successful, what would be the result of eradicating an entire population of mosquitoes? Mosquitoes are a food source for many types of fish, birds, and other insects, and removing them from the food chain would leave a potentially large gap for the creatures that rely on them for sustenance. In the end, we do not know what would happen to the delicate food chain if Aedes Aegypti are removed from the ecosystem.
Not only that, but eradicating the Aedes Aegypti type of mosquito might well leave the area open to invasion by other species who may, in fact, be much more dangerous to human health.
(continued at link)
Poster Comment:
I've seen enough low budget, B&W, back lot science fiction/monster films to say, "GOD HELP US ALL".
The ubiquitous armadillo in the South today (colloquially known as "road pizza") are the result of a single caged pair falling off a Barnum & Bailey truck in Florida around 1900.
And if snakeheads, Kudzu, European Phragmites and giant constrictor snakes are any indication nothing good can come from this roll of the ecological dice.