17 March 2023 / The Target Malaria consortium has for several years been planning to conduct field trials using genetically engineered mosquitoes in Burkina Faso. The aim is to transfer artificial gene constructs, i. e. the so-called ‘X-shredder’, into wild populations of the mosquitoes. This gene construct is meant to reduce the number of female offspring, and thus bring about a decline in the overall population of mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) known to transmit malaria.