Journal of Mosquito Research 2024, Vol.14, No.1, 26-33 http://emtoscipublisher.com/index.php/jmr 28 1.3 Review of existing gene-driven release strategies Over the past few years, researchers have proposed and tested a variety of gene-driven release strategies. One common strategy is to use gene editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas9 to precisely modify mosquito genes to achieve the desired effect (Chen, 2023). Another strategy is to disseminate genes by infecting mosquito parasites, allowing the target genes to spread rapidly in mosquito populations. However, these strategies still face some challenges in practical application, such as technical feasibility, ethical issues, and potential ecological risks. An overview of ecological modeling provides an understanding of its importance in biology and mosquito population dynamics research. Ecological models provide a theoretical basis for the optimization of gene-driven release strategies. An introduction to gene-driven release strategies, understanding their basic principles and existing strategies provides the necessary background for subsequent integration of ecological models with gene-driven release strategies, and explores how ecological models can be used to optimize gene-driven release strategies to improve their effectiveness and sustainability. 2 Challenges and Impacts of Gene-driven Release of Culex quinquefasciatus 2.1 Challenges of uncertainty in population dynamics The population dynamics of bearded mosquitoes (Culex quinquefasciatus) are influenced by a variety of factors, including seasonal variations, climatic conditions, and host availability. Fluctuations in population size, uncertainty in reproductive rates, and interactions between life cycle stages make predicting and controlling mosquito populations extremely complex (Feng et al., 2021). In gene-driven release strategies, understanding the uncertainty in population dynamics is critical for the practical application of the strategy. Mosquito survival and reproduction are greatly influenced by environmental conditions (Figure 1). Factors such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation can directly or indirectly affect the life cycle and population size of bearded mosquitoes (Zhang et al., 2020). Therefore, environmental differences in different regions and seasons may lead to differences in the effectiveness of the same gene-driven release strategy. Understanding these influencing factors and considering these differences in strategy design will help improve the effectiveness of gene-driven release. Figure 1 Survival and reproduction process of mosquitoes (Guégan et al., 2018) 2.2 Potential effects of gene drive release on genetic diversity The implementation of a gene drive release strategy may result in the rapid spread of targeted genes within a population of Aedes aegypti, thereby affecting the genetic structure of the entire population. This "gene drive" effect could lead to a reduction in genetic diversity, making mosquito populations more vulnerable to environmental change and new pathogens.
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