Secrets of the world's largest mosquito factory: factory can produce 3 million a week-mosquitoes-IT information

Yesterday, Deputy Yang Dazhu, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived at Guangzhou Huangpu, the world's largest "mosquito plant", to communicate. Now the factories that produce 3 million mosquitoes a week, fairly arcane work with the outside world. Yesterday came to the "mosquito plant", secrets of this mysterious land. It is reported that, after Sun Yat-sen University Professor Xi Zhiyong out "treatment of mosquitoes mosquito" method through the marketing to carry wolbachia "benefit of mosquito" Aedes albopictus population density, to control the spread of dengue fever.

Guangzhou Nan Sha Zi Cun, luogang mosquito factory staff release neutered males.

Adult feeding areas.

Adult feeding areas.

1 injected eggs wolbachia

Around 2011, Sun Yat-sen University-Michigan State University Joint Research Center for insect-borne tropical disease control Professor Xi Zhiyong team developed and of a stable symbiotic wolbachia females, this is the beginning of the "seed".

Yesterday, in the laboratory, a staff member is through a microscope, with a long pointed "injection syringe" at the egg part of the reproductive system, into the wolbachia. Under a microscope, magnified 200 times times the egg looks finger size. "Mosquito eggs 60-90 minutes after the injection, one injection of an embryo, the staff can be injected about 100 to 200 a day, one out of every 500 to 1000 injected embryos one infected system can be set up. ”

According to reports, the fetal injections, both technically and in the biological sense, the entire project is the most difficult step in the process, step is the key to choosing the right right time, location, and strains successfully into the embryo to achieve vertical transmission of wolbachia, so that their descendants will always carry the symbiotic bacteria.

2 press 3:1 proportion of breeding males females

Confirmed mosquito embryos grow up and their children carry a symbiotic bacteria, can become sources of mosquitoes. After fetal injections, entered the workshop of "breed". The room first thing arranged neatly mosquito rearing cage, cage according to 3:1 proportion of each breeding females and males.

Male female mosquito rearing cage mate spawn

Small cages in which 3,000 female mosquitoes and 1000 males, each a week could lay their eggs between 150,000 and 200,000. Staff took out a piece of thin plate covered in blood and covered with imitation skin film, this Panel is placed above the sealed steel mesh cage, then covered with a heating bag, females would immediately notice the smell of blood and heat gradually flies suck blood. After 3 days of feeding blood, put in the cages affixed with a humidity test paper nesting cups, so that female mosquitoes lay their eggs.

A female mosquito-producing 200~300 eggs

Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on the premise that once the blood, under ideal conditions, a female can produce 80~100 blood-sucking mosquitoes eggs, generally about 3 times in the laboratory, that is, 200~300 a female mosquito eggs. In current practice, one cage can produce about 50,000 eggs. Then show staff has collected numerous attached to the strips of egg, it is learnt that the eggs have the ability to withstand dry dormancy status can be stored for a year.

3 eggs in the larvae

Grow feeders

After collecting the eggs will hatch was placed on larva rearing areas rearing. Due to the temperature, humidity, light, density, feed and other differences can affect the larvae hatch, the traditional breeding is difficult to eliminate environmental gradients, precise counts of larvae caused certain difficulties. Reported granting the team developed a new Larval feeding, mosquito eggs each breeding not only increased from 7,000 to 18,000, also met the high demands of rearing environment, temperature, humidity, even while collecting pupae can be achieved by semi-automatic.

4 separation by size males females

Because only males can be used, therefore, to separate the male and female pupae. Separation of male and female pupae link Xi Zhiyong team is a physical separation. "Male chest width 1.05 mm ~1.2 mm, females about 1.3 mm ~. 4 mm. "According to the different male and female mosquito head-chest size, male and female staff make a separator, the separator is two pieces of clear glass, by adjusting the knob to control spacing, in order to achieve separation of male and female. "1 men can separate 70,000 ~8 mosquito, accuracy of 99.9%". Shop more than 20 sets of machines, but staff said the current staff shortage, separating males number around 1 million per day.

5 x-ray kill residual females

Since pupae are not completely uniform, after the adoption of separator separating male and female pupae, still mixed with male 0.1% female pupae, the female pupae and if put together with male pupae in the overall project to suppress mosquitoes after the effect up to 90% will cause huge risks to the project results, and therefore must be removed. Next step would be to manually check in the past singled out this 0.1% of female pupa, but human errors are inevitable. Team in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, developed an x-ray equipment, by way of physical Ray cleared the female pupae, success rate is close to 100%. Using high energy photon irradiation pupae can kill the female pupae, or destroy the reproductive system of female pupa of their infertility. "This ray detector is the world's first, to dramatically increase production and reduce risk, its arrival time. "Professor XI looking at machine side says admiringly.

6 weekly release 1.5 million sterilized male

"Mosquitoes mate in the morning time and release the male the best timing. "From June 2014 stationary point so far, Wei Yingyang had worked in huangge Sha Taipa for two years. Release mosquitoes in two ways, one is on the top of the road a tricycle put mosquito, another was in the bushes put mosquitoes. In June 2014, the project team into the sand of Taipa. Last March, the project team began in the Islanders zone to release neutered males. Project team member Qian Wei introduced each month 1.5 million males, released three times a week the mosquito. Currently, the island is about 20 release points. More than 60 local villager Liang Bo said: "two years ago, many mosquitoes here, sleep night mosquito, mosquitoes are a lot less now, no mosquito. ”

Billy Qian said last year due to mosquito production is relatively small, so take control blanket control mode. In the best areas to monitor, larva of mosquito suppression rate is above 95%, above 90%. Release of work starting from April this year, and continued until October, cooler weather is over. "Although this year's release and monitoring work is not over, but the results will be better than last year. "Billy Qian said.

Staff, the current team has been in contact for flats in urban districts, schools.

揭秘世界最大蚊子工厂：每周能生产300万只 - 蚊子工厂 - IT资讯

昨天，国际原子能机构副总干事杨大助来到位于广州黄埔的世界最大“蚊子工厂”，进行交流。这个目前每周能生产300万只蚊子的工厂，有着外界颇感神秘的工作。记者昨日来到“蚊子工厂”，揭秘这个神秘之地。据悉，此前，中山大学奚志勇教授研究出“以蚊治蚊”的方法，通过投放携带沃尔巴克氏体的“益蚊”使白纹伊蚊的种群密度降低，进而控制登革热的传播。

广州南沙沙仔村，工作人员释放萝岗蚊子工厂生产的绝育雄蚊。

成虫饲养区。

成虫饲养区。

1给蚊卵注射沃尔巴克氏体

2011年前后，中山大学—密歇根州立大学热带病虫媒控制联合研究中心奚志勇教授团队，成功培育出一只与沃尔巴克氏体达成稳定共生的雌蚊，这就是最开始的“种子”。

昨天在实验室中，一位工作人员正通过显微镜，用一根长尖的“注射针管”对准虫卵的生殖系统部位，打入沃尔巴克氏体。在显微镜下，放大200倍的虫卵看上去有手指大小。“在蚊卵产出后的60至90分钟内注射，一次注射一个胚胎，工作人员一天可以注射100到200个左右，每500至1000个注射胚胎可以建立一个感染系统。”

据介绍，胚胎注射，无论是从技术角度还是生物学角度，都是整个项目进行过程中难度最大的一步，步骤的关键在于选对合适的时间、位置和菌种，成功装进沃尔巴克氏体的胚胎将实现垂直传播，使其后代始终携带该共生菌。

2按3：1比例饲养雄雌蚊

在确认胚胎长大后的蚊子及其下一代携带共生菌，蚊子才能成为种源。胚胎注射后，进入生产车间的“保种”室。该室首先映入眼帘的是整齐排列的蚊虫饲养笼，每只笼子里均按3：1的比例饲养雌蚊和雄蚊。

雄雌蚊饲养笼中交配产卵

其中小号饲养笼中共有3000只雌蚊和1000只雄蚊，每周每笼能产卵15万至20万。工作人员拿出一张涂满了羊血的薄铁板，上面覆盖着模仿人体皮肤的薄膜，将这张板放置在密封的网状笼上方，再盖上一个加热袋，雌蚊立刻发现血的气味和热量，陆续飞上来吸食羊血。喂血3天后，在饲养笼中放进贴有湿试纸的产卵杯，以便雌蚊产卵。

一只雌蚊产200~300个卵

雌蚊每次产卵的前提是吸一次血，理想条件下，一只雌蚊吸一次血可产80~100个卵，在实验室里一般吸血约3次，也就是说，一只雌蚊可产200~300个卵。目前在实际生产中，一笼可产大概5万只卵。随后工作人员展示了已采集的密密麻麻的附在试纸上的虫卵，据悉，这些虫卵具有抗干燥的能力，自然休眠状态下可存放一年。

3虫卵在幼虫

饲养器中成长

虫卵采集后，将被放置在幼虫饲养区中孵化饲养。由于温度、湿度、光照、密度、饲料等的差异均会对幼虫的孵化产生影响，传统的饲养盘难以消除环境梯度，因此对幼虫的精确计数造成一定困难。奚教授团队新开发了一种幼虫饲养器，不仅将每盘的蚊卵饲养量从7000个提升至18000个，也满足了饲养环境的高要求，做到温度、湿度均匀，同时能够实现收集蛹的半自动化。

4按大小分离雄雌蚊

因为只有雄蚊可以使用，因此要对雌雄蚊蛹进行分离。在蚊蛹雌雄分离环节，奚志勇团队采用的是物理分离法。“雄蚊的头胸宽在1.05毫米~1.2毫米，雌蚊大概在1.3毫米~。4毫米。”按照雌雄蚊子头胸尺度的不同，工作人员自制了一个雌雄分离器，这个分离器的主体是两片透明玻璃，通过调节旋钮控制间距，从而实现雌雄分离。“1个人可以分离7万~8万只蚊子，准确率达到99.9%”。车间现有20余台机器，但工作人员表示目前人手不够，每天分离雄蚊数量在100万左右。

5 X射线杀死残留雌蚊

由于蚊蛹个头并不完全统一，在通过分离器分离雌雄蚊蛹后，雄蚊中仍混有0.1%的雌蛹，这些雌蛹如果跟雄蛹一起投放，在整体项目压制蚊子效果达到90%以上后，将会对项目成果造成巨大的风险，因此必须清除。以往下一步将要通过人工检查的方式挑出这0.1%的雌蛹，但人眼误差不可避免。现团队与国际原子能机构合作，自行研发一台X射线仪，通过物理射线的方式清除雌蛹，成功率接近100%。用高能量光子照射蚊蛹，可杀死雌蛹，或破坏雌蛹的生殖系统致其不育。“这台射线仪是全球第一台，能够大大提高生产量，并降低风险，它的到来太及时了。”奚教授边看着机器边赞叹道。

6每周释放150万只绝育雄蚊

“早上是蚊子交配的时间，也是释放雄蚊最佳的时机。”从2014年6月驻点至今，韦迎阳已经在南沙区黄阁镇沙仔岛工作了两年多。他们释放蚊子有两种方式，一种是在马路上边开着三轮车边放蚊子，另一种是走到树丛下面放蚊子。2014年6月，项目组进驻沙仔岛。去年3月开始，项目组开始在岛上的居民聚集区释放绝育雄蚊。项目组成员钱伟介绍，每个月平均150万只雄蚊，每周释放三次蚊子。目前，全岛大概有20个释放点。60多岁的当地村民梁伯说：“两年前这里蚊子很多，晚上睡觉要挂蚊帐，现在蚊子少了很多，不用挂蚊帐了。”

钱伟表示，去年由于蚊子生产量比较少，所以采取控制地毯式的区域控制方式。在监测效果最好的区域，成蚊压制率达到95%以上、幼虫达到90%以上。今年的释放工作从4月开始，一直持续到10月，天气转凉就结束。“虽然今年的释放和监测工作还没有结束，但效果会比去年更好。”钱伟说。

工作人员介绍，目前团队已经在联系市区的单位、学校推广。