Acta Tropica 132S (2014) S170–S177 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Acta Tropica jo u r n al homep age: www.elsevier.com/locate/actatropica Two step male release strategy using transgenic mosquito lines to control transmission of vector-borne diseases Danilo Oliveira Carvalho a,b , André Luis Costa-da-Silva a,b , Rosemary Susan Lees c , Margareth Lara Capurro a,b,∗ a Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 1374, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil b Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular – INCT-EM, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21.941-902, Brazil c Polo d’ Innovazione Genomica, Genetica e Biologia S.C.a.R.L. Edificio D, 4ˆ piano Polo Unico di Medicina ‘Santa Maria della Misericordia ′ , Loc. S. Andrea delle Fratte, 06132 Perugia, Italy a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 24 June 2013 Received in revised form 21 September 2013 Accepted 26 September 2013 Available online 25 October 2013 Keywords: Dengue Malaria Transgenic Vector control Two step release a b s t r a c t Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of pathogens that cause devastating human diseases such as malaria and dengue. The current increase in mean global temperature and changing sea level interfere with precipitation frequency and some other climatic conditions which, in general, influence the rate of development of insects and etiologic agents causing acceleration as the temperature rises. The most common strategy employed to combat target mosquito species is the Integrated Vector Management (IVM), which comprises the use of multiple activities and various approaches to preventing the spread of a vector in infested areas. IVM programmes are becoming ineffective; and the global scenario is threatening, requiring new interventions for vector control and surveillance. Not surprisingly, there is a growing need to find alternative methods to combat the mosquito vectors. The possibility of using transgenic mosquitoes to fight against those diseases has been discussed over the last two decades and this use of transgenic lines to suppress populations or to replace them is still under investigation through field and laboratory trials. As an alternative, the available transgenic strategies could be improved by coupling suppression and substitution strategies. The idea is to first release a suppression line to significantly reduce the wild population, and once the first objective is reached a second release using a substitution line could be then performed. Examples of targeting this approach against vectors of malaria and dengue are discussed. Copyright © International Atomic Energy Agency 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Mosquito – borne diseases In the context of medical entomology, mosquitoes are among the insects that can cause the greatest impacts on global public health. They are responsible for the transmission of pathogens that cause devastating human diseases such as malaria (caused by pro- tozoans of the genus Plasmodium) and dengue (caused by 4 different virus serotypes). Malaria is responsible for more than 200 million cases and 2 million deaths every year, while dengue is responsible for around 390 million cases (Bhatt et al., 2013) and around 500,000 deaths every year, with transmission occurring worldwide, through equatorial, tropical and subtropical areas (Gubler, 1998; Mirzaian et al., 2010). ∗ Corresponding author at: Departamento de Parasitologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes 1374, São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil. Tel.: +55 1130917336; fax: +55 1130917417. E-mail address: mcapurro@icb.usp.br (M.L. Capurro). Of the diseases transmitted by mosquitoes with a significant social and economic impact, malaria and dengue are highlighted here because of the number of infected people, symptom severity and mortality. The etiologic agents of malaria are four differ- ent protozoan species from the genus Plasmodium: Plasmodium vivax, P. falciparum, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi (Kantele and Jokiranta, 2011). Those parasites are present in 108 countries and are transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Africa is the most affected continent hosting 90% of all malaria deaths (Enayati and Hemingway, 2010; Garcia, 2010; Killeen et al., 2002; Maciel et al., 2008; Marshall and Taylor, 2009). Dengue is caused by the four serotypes of dengue virus (DENV 1–4) from the Flaviviridae family (Flavivirus), and can be found in more than 100 countries dis- tributed through the Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia and islands from the western Pacific to the eastern Mediterranean. Around two fifths of the world’s population live in areas infested with Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue viruses (WHO, 2010, 2009). Furthermore, we face the re-emergence of other diseases trans- mitted by mosquitoes, such as encephalitic diseases (St. Louis, 0001-706X/$ – see front matter. Copyright © International Atomic Energy Agency 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2013.09.023