ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with insects of medical, veterinary, and economic importance. Special emphasis is given to the mosquitoes that are the most important vectors of human disease such as malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, and filariasis, all of which constitute major public health problems in tropical and subtropical countries (Nchinda 1998, Patz et al. 1998). To interrupt disease transmission by insect vectors, it may be desirable to permanently establish a different genotype or a transgene in a natural population. This approach requires:
1. Identification and cloning of parasite-inhibiting genes in the mosquito vectors, 2. Development of stable and efficient mosquito transformation tools, and 3. Development of strategies to spread parasite-inhibiting genes into natural popula-
tions (Collins and Besansky 1994).
