Scientists have created a 'fungal weapon' that can kill more than 99% of mosquitoes!

Far away in Africa, a group of scientists struggle to find mosquitoes in a greenhouse of more than 600 square meters. SLEEP COOL insect killer supplier It took them a long time to count 13 mosquitoes alive. Just over a month ago, they released 1,500 drug-resistant mosquitoes into the greenhouse, which even insecticides can't do anything about.

Their staff represents the latest advances in humanity's fight against mosquitoes, which promises to help us eliminate mosquito-borne diseases like malaria. Chinese EASY ON Spray starch manufacturer The blockbuster policy study, also published today in the top academic journal Science, was featured as hot news.

The success of this research is the result of a combination of simple human life experience and advanced gene editing technology. Chinese EASY ON Spray starch supplier It is well known that fungi can infect insects and make them unable to reproduce. In the past, people have tried this natural way to kill pests - in 2005, a team of researchers discovered that a fungus called Metaria anisopliae can kill mosquitoes and potentially stop the spread of malaria.

However, practical application results have disappointed scientists. This fungus works too slowly! Many mosquitoes spread malaria before they are eventually killed. Later, they tested many different fungi in an attempt to find a powerful mosquito killer, but the results were still disappointing. As a result, the technology was not promoted further.

Since natural fungi don't kill mosquitoes effectively, can we genetically engineer them? A multinational team of researchers from the US and Africa decided to give it a try. They found a particular green fungus, Metarhizium hirayama, and introduced a toxin from Australian spiders. Once it comes into contact with the mosquito's "blood," it is activated and kills the mosquito.

It is worth mentioning that this toxin has long been approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency to spray directly on crops to kill pests. Therefore, its safety and efficacy have been verified.

In the laboratory, this genetically modified fungus, its mosquito killing effect has also been verified. Researchers say it only takes one or two spores to infect a mosquito with a deadly virus.

Burkina Faso offers excellent experimental Burkina Faso - it has one of the highest malaria rates in the world - and mosquitoes have developed early tolerance to common insecticides. It would be hard to find a better place to test a new mosquito-killing fungus.

So scientists and local residents began collecting insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and putting them in several greenhouses, each with 500 males and 1,000 females. The researchers will also introduce a cow into the greenhouse twice a week for the mosquitoes to drink blood from.

In this case, the researchers began testing the mosquito-killing fungus. They found that female mosquitoes like to rest on dark surfaces after eating. So they mixed the fungus with local sesame oil and then applied it to a black cotton cloth. Then they hung the cotton cloth in the hut.

After 45 days, the number of mosquitoes in the control greenhouse (only a black cotton cloth coated with sesame oil) reached a maximum of more than 2,500. If a genetically modified fungus is applied to a black cotton cloth, the mosquito population will drop dramatically, to about 500-700. This also confirms the lethality of Metarhizium anisopliae against mosquitoes.

Once cotton cloth was coated with the modified fungus, mosquito populations began to collapse. After 45 days, the researchers counted only 13 mosquitoes, with a kill rate of more than 99 percent!

Even better, the modified fungus only attacks mosquitoes. "The fungi are highly selective," said Professor Raymond J. St. Leger. "They can tell where they are by the chemical signals around them and by the structure of the insect." . The fungus we studied loves mosquitoes. When they find themselves on the surface of the mosquito, they Pierce its skin and enter its body. It doesn't affect other insects, so it doesn't harm beneficial insects, like bees."