Life cycle of the malaria parasite. Image
Source: Stanford University
Researchers, Jacobs-Lorena et al., at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have altered a harmless bacteria (
Pantoea agglomerans)
naturally found in the midgut of mosquitos to fight malaria by
producing and releasing proteins that are toxic to malaria but harmless
to mosquitos or humans. Since the gut is where the malaria parasite
reproduces, this is the optimal location to put an end to it. The
engineered bacteria were indeed successful at reducing the number of
malaria oocysts by 98% in mosquitos with the bacteria compared to
untreated mosquitos. In addition, less than 20% of mosquitos with
engineered bacteria contracted malaria after drinking contaminated
blood.
Prior research has focused on altering the genetics of mosquitos in
an effort to stop the spread of malaria.
This new technique will offer
many of the same challenges: how to get the engineered bacteria to the
mosquitos in the wild since the anti-malarial bacteria may be less fit
compared to unmodified bacteria.
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