A genetically engineered moth may get its first taste of the outdoors this
summer. The Pectinophora gossypiella moths are the adult form of the
pink bollworm, a major cotton pest in the American Southwest. The modified
version carries a marker gene for a protein that fluoresces under ultraviolet
light. If the US Department of Agriculture agrees, the moths will be sterilised
and released for more study into double cages in a facility near Phoenix,
Arizona. John J. Peloquin of the University of California, Riverside, says the
aim is to eventually produce genetically modified moths to mate with their wild
relatives…
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