ABSTRACT
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted by the infectious bite of Anopheles mosquitoes. Vector control of malaria has predominantly focused on targeting the adult mosquito through insecticides and bed nets. However, current vector control methods are often not sustainable for long periods so alternative methods are needed. A novel biocontrol approach for mosquito-borne diseases has recently been proposed, it uses maternally inherited endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria transinfected into mosquitoes in order to interfere with pathogen transmission. Transinfected Wolbachia strains in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the primary vector of dengue fever, directly inhibit pathogen replication, including Plasmodium gallinaceum, and also affect mosquito reproduction to allow Wolbachia to spread through mosquito populations. In addition, transient Wolbachia infections in Anopheles gambiae significantly reduce Plasmodium levels. Here we review the prospects of using a Wolbachia-based approach to reduce human malaria transmission through transinfection of Anopheles mosquitoes.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Aedes , Insect Vectors , Malaria , Pest Control, Biological/methods , Wolbachia/physiologyABSTRACT
The technique to generate transgenic mosquitoes requires adaptation for each target species because of aspects related to species biology, sensitivity to manipulation and rearing conditions. Here we tested different parameters on the microinjection procedure in order to obtain a transgenic Neotropical mosquito species. By using a transposon-based strategy we were able to successfully transform Aedes fluviatilis (Lutz), which can be used as an avian malaria model. These results demonstrate the usefulness of the piggyBac transposable element as a transformation vector for Neotropical mosquito species and opens up new research frontiers for South American mosquito vectors.