Mosquitoes resistant to malaria parasite in genome editing are born, possibility to be decisive for overcoming malaria

ByPeter Stevens

Creatures that kill most human beings on the earth are "mosquitoes" that mediate malariaIt is said that it is. In order to overcome malaria, which is a major threat to human beings in modern society, genetic manipulation technologyGenome editingTechnology to inherit antimalarial resistance genes with a probability of almost 100% was announced.

UC scientists create malaria-blocking mosquitoes | University of California
http://universityofcalifornia.edu/news/uc-scientists-create-malaria-blocking-mosquitoes

The mechanism of infecting malaria is that malaria parasites infest humans by mosquito-mediated malaria parasites. Malaria parasites have the property of gathering in the saliva of mosquitoes, causing the malaria parasite to enter the human body and develop malaria when the mosquito bites a human being. For this reason, mosquitoes that mediate the malaria parasite have been disliked as human enemies.


Some research is also underway to eradicate mosquitoes that mediate malaria parasites for malaria prevention. For example,Genetic research to change female mosquitoes to male mosquitoes to dramatically decrease the number of mosquito populationsThere are also done. However, it is pointed out that eradication of mosquitoes from ecosystems is dangerous as it may have unpredictable effects on other animals and plants.

Among various genetic studies of mosquitoes, research teams such as Dr. Anthony James of Dr. Anthony James and others of the University of California at Irvine researched anti-malaria tolerance genes that make harmless malaria parasites, and found that genes that make antibody of malaria parasite I found it. Dr. James said this antimalarial resistance geneCrispr-Cas 9By genomic editing, we have succeeded in inserting it into DNA of Hamadalaka that mediates malaria.

As for the genomic editing of genetic engineering technology, you can see by following article.

What technology is "genome editing" in God's domain that can freely design genes and change the characteristics of living things? - GIGAZINE


By the way, since genetic information is inherited from fathers and mothers, the probability of malaria resistance to be inherited by children is usually 50%. However, by collaborating with Professor Valentino Gants of the University of California, San Diego to genomically improve this probability, Dr. James succeeded in allowing almost all children to take over antimalarial tolerance. In the experiments, we examined the genetic status of anti-malaria tolerance to offspring by incorporating an enzyme that fluoresces red in the eye of a mosquito having malaria antibody, and it was confirmed that it is inherited with an extremely high probability of 99.5% is.


In the future, Dr. James will tackle the breeding of mosquitoes resistant to malaria, and it is expected that eradication of mosquitoes that mediate malaria parasites in the future is expected. Dr. James suggests that there is a need for further experiments on the effectiveness of mosquitoes with anti-malarial resistance genes, while suggesting the possibility of opening up research areas as a decisive measure for malaria control.