Health: Tiger mosquito, ENEA and startup Biovecblok for new ‘natural’ fight technique

1/8/2019

Open-field experimentation in Rome with “sterlizer” male insects

mosquitoAdvances in the fight against the tiger mosquito, an insect which can potentially spread deadly tropical diseases. ENEA has granted the startup Biovecblok the right to use a biotechnological method developed by the researchers of the Casaccia Research Center, to limit the reproduction of this insect through the production of “sterilizer” males, without radiation-induced mutagenic events or DNA manipulations. This will allow to organize disinfestation campaigns based on releasing specimens incapable of reproducing.

"Basically, through the release of our line of “sterilizer” males - already being tested in Rome as part of a scientific collaboration with the  Sapienza University - the reproductive capacities and population density of mosquitoes will be reduced, as well as the risk of transmission to humans of diseases like dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever, that increasingly appear at our latitudes, favored by intercontinental travel and climate change", Maurizio Calvitti, of the ENEA Biotechnology and  Agro-industry Division said.

The ENEA researchers have infected tiger mosquitoes with strains of Wolbachia, which is harmless to humans and present in most insects, with a double effect: females have a Zika transmission rate of zero and a reduction to less than 5% of dengue and chikungunya transmission rate, while the males mating wild females produce no progeny.

The collaboration agreement with Biovecblok is part of the ENEA mission to transfer research results to companies, promoting competitiveness and employment. Among the most recent major projects there is the Knowledge Exchange Program (KEP), developed in collaboration with the CNA, Confapi, Confartigianato, Confindustria and Unioncamere, which provides companies and associations which participate,  innovative “customized” solutions, consulting services with dedicated researchers and state-of-the-art infrastructures, as well as a 2.5 million euro fund for the development of joint projects.

Created in 2016 by young researchers of the University of Camerino, Biovecblok is funded via the crowdfunding platform "Backtowork24" and has already received numerous awards, including: third place at Global Social Venture Competition (World Final 2017) of the Haas School of Business of the University of Berkeley California, special mention at the 2016 Marzotto Award and was selected among the 20 best Italian startups that participated in the "B-Heroes" program, an acceleration path for Italian companies with high innovation content, that will be the subject of a  television format.

 

For more information please contact:

ENEA - Division “Biotechnologies and Agroindustry”: