Scientists have found a way to use toxic masculinity for good. Australian researchers have successfully genetically engineered insect semen to be poisonous, reducing the number of female insects able to breed. A new technique inserts proteins from spider and sea anemone venom into the reproductive system of fruit flies, poisoning the female during mating.
In the study, the introduction of genetically altered males, which the team refers to as the "toxic male technique," reduced the female population by 37 to 64 percent.
Many problematic insects, such as the screwworm parasite, have been successfully controlled by releasing large numbers of sterile males into the wild, so that many females mate unsuccessfully and the population of the next generation is reduced. Another approach already used against malaria-carrying mosquitoes involves genetically modified males with a dominant lethal gene that kills offspring at the larval stage.
The toxic male technique addresses a drawback of these approaches, which is the fact that females that have mated can still cause harm by spreading diseases and feeding on valuable food crops.
Scientists should be able to adapt the technique to other insects, such as mosquitoes, but the process will likely take years.
Previously: Microplastics found in every semen test sample in the study
