Fig. 19
Pathway 17 Human health: Potential secondary toxicological effects in humans from consuming NTOs which would have fed on dsxFCRISPRh transgenics. The analysis plan draws on the weight of evidence from toxicity studies on DsRed and Cas9, as well as toxicology studies on indicator species outlined in Pathway 1 (Fig. 3). Given body mass ratio of humans compared to transgenic mosquitoes, it was considered implausible that the transgenic would be toxic to humans but not the NTOs on which humans might feed, having a reduced body mass ratio compared to transgenic mosquitoes. Where the weight of evidence on secondary toxicological effects remains equivocal, then further experimental studies in an indicator species of mammal, such as the rat, could be pursued in a tiered analysis plan. The net effect of the population suppression gene drive could ultimately be to reduce this potential harm by reducing the density of mosquitoes including transgenic ones and therefore any potential for NTO feeding on transgenics