New CRISPR-based technology developed to control pests with precision-guided genetics

Using the CRISPR gene editing tool, researchers have developed a new way to control and suppress populations of insects, potentially including those that ravage agricultural crops and transmit deadly diseases. The ‘precision-guided sterile insect technique’ alters key genes that control insect sex determination and fertility. When pgSIT eggs are introduced into targeted populations, only adult sterile males emerge, resulting in a novel, environmentally friendly and relatively low-cost method of controlling pest populations in the future.