About half of the world's population lives in areas where malaria mosquitoes are found, millions of people get sick every year and thousands die from Malaria . To create another way to combat the devastating disease, scientists have adjusted the genes of malaria mosquitoes to make it the death of the malaria genera itself.
Despite the development of medicine, the threat of malaria remains shrouded in tropical countries. In 2021 alone, more than 241 million people suffered from malaria, resulting in 627,000 deaths, most of which are children under the age of 5 in sub-Saharan South Africa. Meanwhile, progress in the fight against malaria has stagnated since 2015: Malaria mosquitoes and their parasites they carry have become resistant to insecticides and drugs, and funds for the development of new mosquitoes have dropped dramatically.
Malaria spreads between people through Mosquito bites : the pathogen Plasmodium must develop in the intestines of mosquitoes and enter their salivary glands, so that this insect can be dangerous to humans. However, only one-tenth of the mosquitoes live long enough to get the malaria parasites to reach their salivary glands —in their new work, the team is trying to further reduce their number.
By modifying the genome of malaria mosquito Anopheles Gambia (the species mainly carries malaria in Africa), the researchers ensure that their intestines begin to produce a special compound - antimicrobial peptide . These substances, initially isolated from African bees and smooth-clawed frogs, can disrupt the development of the Plasmodium and slow it down for days. In addition to its effects on parasites, the peptide shortens the lifespan of the mosquito itself, so this should lead to a sharp decrease in insects that are harmful to humans under natural conditions where most animals die before natural death. In other words, modified mosquitoes die in some way before the Plasmodium reaches their salivary glands, and the parasites die with it.
Of course, the creation of GMO mosquito is far from the main thing: large-scale trials are ahead of scientists to demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of new malaria control technologies.
The first step has been taken: Because of competition with unmodified mosquitoes, it is unlikely that modified mosquitoes will naturally spread their genes, and researchers will use gene drivers to increase the likelihood of inheriting "anti-malarial" genes.
If this technology proves itself reasonable, then over the next two to three years, scientists will conduct field trials, including joint experiments with colleagues from African countries such as Tanzania . Scientists plan to test new mosquitoes in conditions as close to nature as possible and to evaluate their effectiveness against local Plasmodium strains.
Unfortunately, experience over the past few years has shown that the fight against malaria is much more difficult than at first glance. We will have to use a comprehensive approach – new drugs, new vaccines and new malaria mosquitoes – so that future people can one day end this dangerous disease.
This study was published in the journal "Scientific Advances ".
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