Study: GM mozzies survive even in a lab

Manufacturer of genetically modified mosquitoes are accused of not coming clean with information on the survival rate of the insects.

PETALING JAYA: Oxitec, the manufacturer of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, withheld crucial information with regard to the survival rate of the insects, claimed several environmental groups.

In a joint press statement, the groups revealed results of a study that showed the GM mosquitoes had a three percent survival rate even in a controlled laboratory setting.

“In the open field where thousands of these mosquitoes are released continuously, the number of the surviving insects would be high,” the statement said.

It was signed by Earth US, GeneWatch UK, Third World Network and Friends of the Earth Brazil.

The Institute of Medical Research (IMR) said that it had released 6,000 male GM mosquitoes of the aedes aegypti strain in an uninhabited area in Bentong, Pahang, in December last year.

It was to test their ability to survive in the wild. The mosquitoes would mate with the wild female strain to produce sterile eggs, eventually suppressing aedes population in the area.

However, the experiment drew criticism from Third World Network (TWN) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

They said there has been no public consultation prior to the release of the mosquitoes and slammed IMR for announcing the release one month after the experiment was done.

TWN also said that GM mosquitoe offspring would only die in the absence of tetracycline, an antibiotic. Tetracycline is commonly used for agricultural and animal husbandry purposes.

The environmental groups said that their research also showed that the GM mosquitoes’ larvae survived after being fed with cat food contaminated with low levels of tetracycline.

“And many of it managed to reproduce, with their offspring surviving into adulthood,” the statement said.

When contacted, TWN’s senior researcher Lim Li Ching said that in their studies, they found that the aedes mosquitoes could also breed in murky and contaminated waters.

“We always thought that the mosquitoes could only breed in clear waters but our studies revealed otherwise,” said Lim.