Health
ISRAELI researchers on Tuesday produced female mono-sex crayfish for biological pest control, without their environmentally harmful reproduction, the Ben-Gurion University (BGU) reported.
Freshwater crayfish were used as biological eliminators of snails that host parasites, the causes of the infectious disease bilharzia.
The problem of this pest control method was the takeover of the exterminating species in the environment, turning into an invasive species.
In the new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers at BGU’s National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, produced “super female” crayfish with two female sex chromosomes, lacking the masculine Z chromosome.
The researchers were able to grow the special crayfish population without the use of hormones or genetic changes, thus addressing agricultural and ecological considerations.
However, in efficiency tests at the BGU labs, the super female crayfish eliminated snails with great speed without environmentally harmful reproduction.
The female crayfish was developed together with researchers from Enzootic, a start-up company that specialised in biotechnologies in female crayfish.
Meanwhile, the BGU researchers were currently developing a solution for a fishery in north-eastern Israel, which was facing fish parasite contamination sourced from snails. (Xinhua/NAN)
– Sept. 3, 2019 @ 13:25 GMT |
Tags: Israeli researchers develop safe mono-sex crayfish for bio pest control
