Population Genetics-Informed Design and Deployment of Genetic Mosquito Control Strategies

Population genomics can improve mosquito control when genetic measurements are linked to specific design, deployment, and monitoring decisions. Here, we provide a decision-oriented framework for integrating population genetic data into conventional sterile insect technique (SIT), female-specific Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal (fsRIDL), CRISPR-based precision-guided SIT (pgSIT), gene drives, Wolbachia-based incompatible insect technique (IIT), and Wolbachia population modification. These approaches have distinct biological requirements and failure modes. Immigration can replenish vector populations targeted by repeated sterile male or IIT releases; standing or newly generated functional escape alleles can impede the performance of homing gene drives; and Wolbachia establishment depends on cytoplasmic incompatibility, maternal transmission, host fitness, and spatial structure. We show how target site surveys, functional and compatibility assays, movement measurements, contained experiments, and spatial models can inform target selection, release stock preparation, release geography, and surveillance. We distinguish evidence from field trials—including mosquito suppression with IIT and reductions in dengue following IIT-SIT or Wolbachia population-modification releases—from gene-drive outcomes that remain pre-field. We argue that population genetic measurements are most useful when they lead to prespecified, testable decisions: local inputs should define forecast ranges, endpoints, and decision rules that can be evaluated against independent observations. Genomic structure alone cannot establish current movement, biological compatibility, field efficacy, or epidemiological benefit. Linking population genetic measurements to intervention-specific decisions and prospective validation provides a practical framework for translating mosquito genetic control from laboratory design toward responsible field deployment.