CRISPR gene-editing therapy has already shown immense promise in treating and curing diseases, but scientists are now revealing its potential for disease prevention. A recent paper published in Nature details how a team of researchers successfully edited a single gene in mosquitos, rendering them unable to transmit malaria. This groundbreaking development could eventually lead to the release of genetically modified mosquitos into the wild, significantly reducing the staggering 600,000 malaria deaths that occur annually.
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Mosquitos infect up to 263 million people with malaria each year. Traditional efforts to control mosquito populations and the parasites they carry have stalled due to the development of resistance to insecticides and drugs. Now, biologists from UC San Diego, Johns Hopkins, and UC Berkeley universities have found an innovative way to halt malaria transmission by changing just a single amino acid in mosquitos. Critically, these altered mosquitos can still bite infected individuals and pick up parasites, but they cannot transmit them further.
The research utilized CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing “scissors” to remove a specific amino acid (allele) known as L224, which facilitates malaria parasite movement to a mosquito’s salivary glands. This undesirable allele was replaced with a benign version, Q224. The newly introduced Q224 effectively blocks two different malaria parasite species from reaching the salivary glands, thereby preventing infection in humans or animals.
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“With a single, precise tweak, we’ve turned [a mosquito gene component] into a powerful shield that blocks multiple malaria parasite species and likely across diverse mosquito species and populations, paving the way for adaptable, real-world strategies to control this disease,” stated George Dimopoulos, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University.
Unlike previous malaria control methods, this genetic alteration does not negatively impact the mosquitos’ health or reproductive capabilities. This crucial factor allowed researchers to develop a mechanism for mosquito offspring to inherit the beneficial Q224 allele, enabling it to spread through mosquito populations and effectively halt malaria parasite transmission. Dimopoulos concluded, “We’ve harnessed nature’s own genetic tools to turn mosquitos into allies against malaria.”
