Science, Regulation, and Precedent for Genetically Modified Insects

Questions have been raised about the transparency and scientific quality of regulatory processes applied in the first open field releases of genetically modified (GM) insects, and there is concern that inappropriate precedents have been set [1], particularly through generic risk assessments covering multiple species and technologies [2]. The GM insects tested in the field so far are intended for sterile insect release programs against a major pest of cotton (pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella) in the United States [3] and against Aedes aegypti, the mosquito vector of dengue fever, in the Cayman Islands [4], Malaysia [5], and Brazil [6]. In the pink bollworm release, the GM insects were sterilised by radiation and the GM trait was a heritable red marker colour that allowed discrimination from wild types. In the Aedes aegypti releases, the mosquitoes carried an inserted inherited dominant lethality trait that causes late larval stage mortality in offspring of homozygous and heterozygous individuals, as well as the colour marker trait to provide an essential discrimination from wild types. For control programs, insects with new genetic properties could be introduced either in large numbers in self-limiting populations or in smaller numbers in self-replicating populations for a specific beneficial purpose [7], [8], but releases have so far only involved the self-limiting category.