Creating a stable, heritable infection of Wolbachiabacteria in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes diminishes the insects’ chances of transmitting the human malaria-causing parasite, according to a report published today (May 9) in Science. The results suggest that such modified mosquitoes could contribute to malaria prevention strategies in the future.
“It’s a very nice demonstration that Anophelesgenus, the most important disease vector mosquitoes, which haven’t previously been shown to naturally support Wolbachia infections, can indeed do so in a stable inherited manner,” said Steven Sinkins, head of the Mosquitoes & Wolbachia group in the Experimental Medicine division at the University of Oxford, UK, who was not involved in the research. “It’s all very exciting stuff in terms of developing new malaria control strategies.”….
