Scientists Create Malaria-Resistant Mosquito

(NewsCore) - Scientists in the U.S. have created a genetically modified mosquito that cannot pass malaria to human beings, it was revealed late Friday.

They say that the ultimate goal is to introduce malaria-resistant mosquitoes into the environment with the aim of displacing the malaria-carrying population.

Malaria infects 250 million people a year and kills more than a million of them, mainly children. The disease is caused by the parasite Plasmodium, a single cell organism. Previous work with genetically modified mosquitoes has reduced the insects’ ability to pass on the pathogen but until now not eradicated it altogether.

In the latest study, published in the journal PLoS Pathogens, a team of scientists claim to have created a mosquito that is completely immune to Plasmodium, meaning it cannot pass the disease on to human beings.

They achieved the immunity by targeting a gene that controls a signaling protein known as Akt, which is involved in the development of the parasite inside the mosquito. By genetically engineering this switch permanently to “on,” more Akt was produced, enabling the immune system to fight off Plasmodium.

Akt is involved in the mosquito’s growth, lifespan and immune system and the modification also shortened the lifespan of the insect.

When the University of Arizona team studied the genetically modified mosquitoes after feeding them malaria-infested blood, they noticed that the Plasmodium parasites did not infect a single study animal.

Professor Michael Riehle, an entomologist at the University of Arizona who led the research, said: “We were just hoping to see some effect on the mosquitoes’ growth rate, lifespan or their susceptibility to the parasite, but it was great to see that our construct blocked the infection process completely.”

The challenge now, he said, would be to make further genetic modifications to give the mosquitoes a competitive edge over the wild strains.