Less than a decade after it was first identified in California, an invasive insect called the glassy-winged sharpshooter had turned the bacterium that causes Pierce’s from a nuisance to a nightmare.
Through inspections and targeted pesticide spraying, the state has largely been able to confine the invasive sharpshooter to Southern California. But the disease still has no cure, and it’s at risk of getting worse and harder to combat due to climate change.
Researchers are now looking to add cutting-edge technology to California’s anti-Pierce’s arsenal, by changing the genome of the glassy-winged sharpshooter so that it can no longer spread the bacterium.
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In the US, the regulatory environment around CRISPR-modified insects is currently “evolving,” according to an EPA spokesperson. Government guidance released in 2017 outlined a coordinated approach that suggested the USDA will largely have authority over genetically engineered animals related to agriculture. But jurisdiction may vary depending on whether an edited organism is intended to reduce the population of an insect or disrupt disease transmission. Thus far, the US government has allowed the release of genetically modified mosquitoes, but tests of crop pests, like diamondback moths and pink bollworms, have been limited.
