The piRNA pathway is a specialized small RNA interference that in mosquitoes is mechanistically distant from analogous biology in the Drosophila model. Current genetic engineering methods, such as targeted genome manipulation, have a high potential to tease out the functional complexity of this intricate molecular pathway. However, progress in utilizing these methods in arthropod vectors has been geared mostly toward the development of new vector control strategies rather than to study cellular functions. Herein we propose that genetic engineering methods will be essential to uncover the full functionality of PIWI/piRNA biology in mosquitoes and that extending the applications of genetic engineering on other aspects of mosquito biology will grant access to a much larger pool of knowledge in disease vectors that is just out of reach. We discuss motivations for and impediments to expanding the utility of genetic engineering to study the underlying biology and disease transmission and describe specific areas where efforts can be placed to achieve the full potential for genetic engineering in basic biology in mosquito vectors. Such efforts will generate a refreshed intellectual source of novel approaches to disease control and strong support for the effective use of approaches currently in development.

piRNA途径是一种特殊的小RNA干扰，它在蚊子中与机制中的类似生物学机制相距较远。 果蝇模型。当前的基因工程方法，例如靶向基因组操纵，具有很大的潜力来弄清这种复杂分子途径的功能复杂性。但是，在节肢动物载体中利用这些方法的进展主要是针对新的载体控制策略的发展，而不是研究细胞功能。本文中，我们提出基因工程方法对于揭示蚊子中PIWI / piRNA生物学的全部功能至关重要，并且将基因工程的应用扩展到蚊子生物学的其他方面将使人们能够获得更多有关疾病载体的知识，遥不可及。我们讨论了扩大基因工程的实用性的动机和障碍，以研究潜在的生物学和疾病传播，并描述了可以在蚊媒中实现基础工程的全部基因工程潜力的具体领域。这些努力将为疾病控制的新方法提供新的知识来源，并为有效使用当前正在开发的方法提供强有力的支持。