Ethical dilemma: Should we get rid of mosquitoes? - Talya Hackett

Translator: Wieka Barathayomi Reviewer: Azfa A

Because of the pathogens they carry,

Karena patogen yang mereka bawa,

mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths every year than any other animal,

nyamuk adalah penyebab kematian manusia dibandingkan hewan lainnya,

including other humans.

termasuk manusia.

But very few of the 3,500 mosquito species

Beberapa dari 3.500 spesies nyamuk

actually transmit deadly diseases to humans.

menularkan penyakit mematikan kepada manusia.

So what if we could get rid of the most lethal mosquitoes?

Bagaimana kita bisa membasmi nyamuk paling mematikan?

Over the last two decades,

Selama dua dekade terakhir,

scientists have begun conducting experiments using engineered technologies

ilmuwan melakukan percobaan menggunakan teknologi rekayasa

called “gene drives” that could theoretically do just that.

disebut “gen drive” yang secara teoritis bisa melakukan hal itu.

So, should we?

Haruskah kita mencobanya?

To begin grappling with this question,

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan ini,

we have to get a sense of how the technology works.

kita harus memahami cara teknologi bekerja.

In the usual process of inheritance,

Dalam proses pewarisan biasa,

the genomes of each parent recombine randomly.

genom dari masing-masing orang tua bergabung secara acak.

So their offspring end up with the DNA that’s a rough 50/50 mix

Keturunan mereka akan memiliki DNA campuran 50/50

from their parents.

dari orang tua mereka.

But gene drives thwart this process and ensure they're passed on.

Tapi gen drive menggagalkan proses ini dan memastikan mereka diwariskan.

Gene drives are found in nature but,

Gen drive ditemukan di alam,

using new gene-editing technology,

tapi menggunakan teknologi rekayasa gen baru,

scientists have also begun engineering them in contained labs.

ilmuwan juga telah memulai rekayasa di laboratorium.

For example, in a 2018 study,

Misalnya, dalam sebuah studi tahun 2018,

researchers injected a gene drive into mosquito eggs

peneliti menyuntikkan gen drive ke dalam telur nyamuk

that made females sterile when they had two copies of the modified gene.

yang membuat betina mandul karena memiliki dua salinan gen modifikasi.

Such a modification would usually disappear quickly.

Modifikasi seperti itu biasanya menghilang dengan cepat.

But it spread.

Tapi itu menyebar.

The modified mosquitoes passed the gene drive onto some of their offspring.

Nyamuk yang dimodifikasi mewarisi gen drive ke beberapa keturunan mereka.

The gene drive, which they inherited on one chromosome,

Gen drive, yang mereka warisi pada satu kromosom,

copied itself onto the other chromosome in the offspring’s sperm and egg cells,

menyalin dirinya ke kromosom lain dalam sperma dan sel telur keturunannya,

ensuring it was passed on to their offspring,

memastikan itu diwariskan kepada keturunannya,

regardless of which chromosome they received.

terlepas dari kromosom mana mereka terima.

This process repeated as all males that carried the gene

Proses ini berulang saat semua jantan yang membawa gen itu

and all females that had one copy of it, continued reproducing,

dan semua betina yang memiliki satu salinannya, terus bereproduksi,

spreading the gene drive.

menyebarkan gen drive.

As they did, they produced more females that had two copies of the gene—

Mereka menghasilkan lebih banyak betina yang memiliki dua salinan gen—

and would therefore sterile.

dan karena itu, betina akan steril.

With a near 100% inheritance rate, the gene spread through the population

Dengan tingkat warisan hampir 100%, gen menyebar melalui populasi

and within 12 generations almost all females were sterile,

dan dalam 12 generasi hampir semua betina mandul,

and the populations crashed.

dan populasi runtuh.

In 2020, the same team achieved a similar result

Pada tahun 2020, tim yang sama mencapai hasil yang serupa

with a gene drive that made populations male-only.

dengan gen drive yang menghasilkan populasi jantan saja.

Gene drives have proven powerful in the lab.

Gen drive telah terbukti berhasil di laboratorium.

So, implementing them in the wild is a big decision—

Menerapkannya di alam liar adalah keputusan besar—

one that’s being considered because of how the fight

salah satu yang dipertimbangkan adalah

against mosquito-borne diseases is going.

melawan penyakit yang ditularkan oleh nyamuk.

Existing mosquito control measures, like insecticide-treated bed nets,

Tindakan pengendalian nyamuk yang ada, seperti kelambu berinsektisida,

helped reduce the number of deaths from malaria,

membantu mengurangi jumlah kematian karena malaria,

the deadliest mosquito-borne disease, between 2000 and 2019.

penyakit nyamuk paling mematikan antara tahun 2000 dan 2019.

But fatalities have begun rising again.

Tapi korban jiwa mulai meningkat lagi.

Many mosquitoes have developed insecticide resistance—

Banyak nyamuk mulai tahan terhadap insektisida—

and insecticides kill more than just mosquitoes.

dan insektisida tidak hanya membunuh nyamuk.

In addition to the first-ever malaria vaccine,

Selain vaksin malaria pertama,

approved in October of 2021,

disetujui pada Oktober 2021,

many see promise in gene drives.

banyak yang melihat peluang dalam gen drive.

Experts are researching what it would look like to specifically target

Para ahli sedang meneliti target khusus

the deadliest mosquito populations with this technology.

populasi nyamuk paling mematikan dengan teknologi ini.

Like Anopheles gambiae, for instance:

Seperti Anopheles gambiae,

the species overwhelmingly responsible for spreading malaria in Equatorial Africa,

spesies yang menyebarkan malaria di Ekuator Afrika,

which experiences the vast majority of mosquito-related fatalities.

yang menyebabkan banyak kematian akibat nyamuk.

The idea is that, when a gene-drive-affected population

Idenya adalah saat populasi gen-drive

of Anopheles gambiae drops low enough,

Anopheles gambiae turun cukup rendah,

it would break the malaria transmission cycle.

itu akan memutus siklus transmisi malaria.

But before gene drive mosquitoes are actually released into the wild,

Sebelum nyamuk gen drive dilepaskan ke alam liar,

some big questions need answers.

beberapa pertanyaan besar perlu dijawab.

Like, could gene drives cross into and cause the collapse of non-target species?

Seperti, bisakah gen drive meruntuhkan spesies non-target?

It doesn’t seem that many mosquito species interbreed,

Sepertinya tidak banyak spesies nyamuk yang kawin silang,

making this unlikely,

membuat ini tidak mungkin,

but scientists are conducting research to be certain.

ilmuwan sedang melakukan penelitian untuk memastikannya.

And how might a mosquito population’s collapse affect ecosystems?

Bagaimana pengaruh keruntuhan populasi nyamuk terhadap ekosistem?

One team is examining the feces and stomach contents

Satu tim memeriksa feses dan isi lambung

of insectivores in Ghana to gauge the role of Anopheles gambiae in local food webs.

insektivora di Ghana untuk mengukur peran Anopheles gambiae dalam jaring makanan.

And researchers are investigating

Dan para peneliti menyelidiki

whether suppressing populations could make other insects more vulnerable

apakah menekan populasi bisa membuat serangga lain lebih rentan

or leave a niche open that a harmful species could occupy.

atau membuka celah untuk ditempati spesies yang berbahaya.

Scientists are also exploring alternatives to population collapse,

Ilmuwan juga mengeksplorasi alternatif terhadap keruntuhan populasi,

like gene drives that instead make mosquitoes resistant

seperti gen drive yang bukannya membuat nyamuk tahan

to the malaria parasite.

terhadap parasit malaria.

And others are developing countermeasures to reverse

Dan ilmuwan lain mengembangkan tindakan pencegahan untuk membalikkan

the effects of gene drives if needed.

efek gen drive jika diperlukan.

Meanwhile, some people have called for gene drive research to halt

Sementara itu, beberapa orang meminta untuk menghentikan penelitian gen drive

out of concern for the possible consequences.

karena khawatir akan konsekuensi yang mungkin terjadi.

This raises another question: who should decide whether to release gene drives?

Ini menimbulkan pertanyaan lain: siapa yang mengambil kebijakan gen drive?

It’s essential that communities, scientists, regulators,

Sangat penting bahwa komunitas, ilmuwan, regulator,

and governments of the countries most affected by mosquito-borne diseases

dan pemerintah yang negaranya terdampak penyakit yang ditularkan oleh nyamuk

be highly involved in the research and decision-making processes.

untuk terlibat dalam penelitian dan proses pengambilan keputusan.

Conversations are currently underway at all levels

Diskusi sedang berlangsung di semua tingkatan

to establish a system to manage this new area of research—

untuk membangun sistem pengelolaan bidang penelitian baru ini—

and the ethical questions it carries.

dan pertanyaan etis yang dibawanya.