Can transposable elements be used to drive disease refractoriness genes into vector populations?

A number of biological procedures are currently being considered as alternatives to insecticide-based methods for the control of insect vectors of disease. Among these are the adaptation of various genetic mechanisms to drive genes of interest, such as refractoriness to malaria in mosquitoes, into natural populations, for vector control purposes. Here, Margaret Kidwell and Jose Ribeiro develop a rationale for the possible use of transposable genetic elements, one of these potential drive mechanisms, and some of the problems being faced in seeking to determine the feasibility of such a strategy are described.