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Scientists Use CRISPR Gene Editing to Create the World’s First Mutant Social Insect

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A staple of bad science fiction, mutant ants have been more of a figment of imagination rather than scientific reality. We’ve genetically altered mice and fruit flies, but growing mutant ants has eluded scientists due to the complex life cycle of the little critters.

Now two teams announced that they managed to edit out certain genes from lab ants, altering their behavior.

The team from Rockefeller University published a paper outlining how they removed orco – a gene that plays a key part in an ant’s odor receptors. Deleting the gene by using the CRISPR-Cas9 technique resulted in the ants losing about 90% of their “olfaction”. This made them unable to socialize. The ants also changed in other ways, showing affected behavior. They laid very few eggs, wandered aimlessly, and showed poor parenting.

The other team, including scientists from NYU, Vanderbilt University, University of Pennsylvania, and Arizona State University, also used CRISPR to delete the orco protein…

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