Genetic control of insects involves the release of modified insects that contain altered genetic traits and are competent to mate with target populations to introduce the traits therein. Since it relies on mating, this type of control is species-specific, non-toxic, and has the advantage that the released insects can do the difficult task of reaching remote and otherwise inaccessible insect niches.

Gene drives are capable of drastically biasing their own transmission and are being developed as a new type of genetic control, one that would be self-sustaining, requiring low numbers in the initial release in order to spread and persist within a population. In this review, the advantages and challenges of building and deploying this technology will be discussed, using mosquito control as an example.

昆虫的遗传控制涉及释放含有改变的遗传特征并能够与目标种群交配以将这些特征引入其中的改良昆虫。由于它依赖交配，因此这种控制是特定于物种的，无毒的，并且具有这样的优势，即释放的昆虫可以完成到达遥远且难以接近的昆虫栖息地的艰巨任务。

基因驱动器能够极大地偏置其自身的传播，并且正在被开发为一种新型的基因控制，它将自我维持，在初始释放时需要低数量的基因才能在人群中传播和持续生存。在这篇综述中，将以蚊子控制为例，讨论构建和部署该技术的优势和挑战。