Montell presented the discovery that the trpVa gene is essential for hearing and mating in Aedes aegypti, with mutant males rendered completely deaf and achieving a 0% fertilisation rate. This points to ways of giving sterile males a competitive edge to optimise the Sterile Insect Technique, serving the dual goal of protecting health and restoring the pre-invasion environment.

Summary derived from the conference transcript; not an author-supplied abstract of record.