Scotlands midge problem could be solved after scientists genetically modify bugs that cant bite… – The Scottish Sun

SCOTLAND'S bloodthirsty midges may finally meet their match, as a result of revolutionary genetic manipulationtechniquesthat could stop the pesky insects biting chunks out of the tourist industry.

News that a British biotechnology company has used genetically engineeringto produce non-biting mosquitoes in Florida to help curb yellow and dengue fevers and ultimately malaria may spell long-term hope of beating the annual Scottish scourge.

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Oxford-based Oxytec and American partners recently released genetically modified mosquito larvae in the Florida Keys after gene editing suppressed wild, disease-carrying populations without recourse to pesticides.

While midges share some characteristics with mosquitoes, Dr Simon Carpenter, a leading entomologist from the Pirbright Institute and part of the team that generated and built the first ever complete genome of a Culicoides biting midge, said using the same process in Scotland was more complex - and might take 20 years.

He toldThe Sunday Times: I would be amazed if no one took it on as a project. I would be surprised if there is not a genome (by then).

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Professor Bruce Whitelaw, director of the Roslin Institute which gave the worldDolly the sheep, said it was conceptually possible to use the technology to reduce midge and even deer tick populations which can spread Lyme Disease.

But he added: [We] would need a lot of basic research to understand fertility in midges and establish the needed genetic engineering capability.

Carpenter said the sheer abundance of midges made it currently really difficult to knock out enough of the population to make a difference.

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He added: Mosquitoes are pretty abundant in Florida but Culicoides Impunctatus - the species of midge native to Scotland - is insane.

He said that during research we were collecting 600 midges off an exposed arm.

During the controversial Florida project, 12,000 males were released but eventually hundreds of millions could be hatched.

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The genetic material in the male mosquitoes was altered to pass on a lethal gene to female offspring, preventing them manufacturing an essential protein and reaching maturity. They then die off.

Whitelaw added: They try and mate but nothing will come of it."

"The insects only have to be released once and they drive through a population.

Oxytec claims the work is sustainable and eco-friendly and less damaging than toxic pesticides which insects can become resistant to.

Carpenter said researching midges was low down on the list of funding priorities because the end point of the bite is not fatal.

Deer tick were likely to be addressed ahead of midges, he added.

Swarms of midges descend across a quarter of the country every summer spreading viruses like blue-tongue disease in cattle and making life miserable for holidaymakers and locals.

It has been estimated to cost tourism 268million.

People rely on a variety of repellents to ward away midges.

Many walkers swear by Avons Skin So Soft and essential oils, while others resort to midge hoods and sophisticated machines that suck up huge quantities of the insects.

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Morag Phillips, who grew up on Skye and still visits the island, said: Certainly genetic modification would be good for tourism and make it easier for people to carry on working outside.

"The words genetic modification conjures up scary thoughts. But the idea of a midge that doesnt bite sounds like heaven to me.

But they are not universally detested. Adult midges are consumed by spiders and swallows and their larve are eaten by fish, dragonfly larvae, water beetles and other predators.

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Scotlands midge problem could be solved after scientists genetically modify bugs that cant bite... - The Scottish Sun