[/caption]Scientists from the University of Arizona have successfully engineered a mosquito that can no longer transmit malaria to human. Researchers from all around the world have always tried to create a new breed of mosquito that was unable to transmit the diseases but to no avail, the University of Arizona News reports.
The US scientists have been successful in altering genes that renders the mosquito immune to the parasite, a single-celled organism called Plasmodium. The team used molecular biology techniques in order to implement a piece of genetic information into the mosquito’s genome. The gene that they altered was a kind of messenger molecule and plays an important role in parasite development.
This alteration in the mosquito genes does not only curb parasite development but also shorten the lifespan of the mosquito making it really interesting when it comes to managing malaria. The dream of researchers nowadays is to replace the wild mosquitoes with a new breed of malaria-proof mosquito that will be unable to act as vectors of this disease.
Michael Riehle who led the research effort says that “If you want to effectively stop the spreading of the malaria parasite, you need mosquitoes that are no less than 100 percent resistant to it. If a single parasite slips through and infects a human, the whole approach will be doomed to fail”.
Malaria was present in the US during the 40’s and the 50’s but was successfully eradicated through DDT spraying campaigns. Nowadays it is estimated that 250 million people contract malaria each year among which 1 million cases are fatal. Most of these deaths occur in the sub-Saharan region.
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