Genetically engineered male fruit flies can transmit poison to females during mating
Abdul Latif/Alamy
Insects that spread disease and damage crops could be controlled by inserting poisons from spider and sea anemone venom into males’ reproductive systems, killing females they mate with.
Samuel Beach and Maciej Maselko at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, have developed what they call the “toxic male technique”, where insects are genetically engineered to express the venom proteins of other species in the glands of their reproductive system.
They tested seven different…
