Hope for Eradicating Malaria Through Genetic Modification of Anopheles Mosquitoes

American scientists have successfully created a genetic modification in the malaria-carrying mosquito that makes the transmission of the malaria parasite to the next generation of mosquitoes impossible. This change could lead to the eradication of the deadly malaria disease. According to a report by Agence France-Presse, other recent studies have shown that genetic modification to sterilize the Plasmodium falciparum parasite (which causes malaria) in the mosquitoes that carry this disease is possible. However, the results of this new research, published earlier this week, indicate significant advancements in one of the gene-editing methods known as CRISPR. In this method, genes that prevent the fertility of the parasite are inserted into the DNA of the Anopheles mosquito, and the next generation of these mosquitoes will no longer be able to grow this parasite. The Anopheles mosquito is considered the primary method of malaria transmission in Asia. Researchers say the success rate of this method is over 99 percent. Dr. Anthony James, a professor of biology and molecular genetics at the University of Irvine in the United States who led this research, states that this method is a beacon of hope for eradicating malaria. To ensure that this gene-editing method works effectively in mosquitoes and impacts the correct DNA structure, a type of enzyme that causes the eyes of the next generation of mosquitoes to turn red was also added to these changes. 99.5 percent of the next generation of mosquitoes had red eyes. Dr. James believes that before this method is widely implemented in malaria-affected areas, more laboratory tests are needed to prove the effects of this genetic manipulation on the mosquitoes' bodies, but 'this is a very important first step.' James states that we know (the changes to the genes) work. The second-generation mosquitoes will not be the last generation, but we know we can create (changes) in their large population. Malaria remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Forty percent of the world's population lives in areas at risk of malaria. Each year, between 300 to 500 million people worldwide contract malaria, and nearly one million people lose their lives due to this disease. Most of the victims of this disease are infants, children, and pregnant women living in the deserts of sub-Saharan Africa.