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11/26/2015

ScientistscreategeneticallymodifiedmalariablockingmosquitoesScienceDaily

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Scientistscreategeneticallymodifiedmalariablocking
mosquitoes
Date:
Source:
Summary:

November23,2015
UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine
Usingagroundbreakinggeneeditingtechnique,scientistshavecreatedastrainof
mosquitoescapableofrapidlyintroducingmalariablockinggenesintoamosquito
populationthroughitsprogeny,ultimatelyeliminatingtheinsects'abilitytotransmitthe
diseasetohumans.Thisnewmodelrepresentsanotableadvanceintheefforttoestablish
anantimalarialmosquitopopulation,whichwithfurtherdevelopmentcouldhelperadicate
adiseasethatsickensmillionsworldwideeachyear.

FULLSTORY

AnAnophelesstephensimosquitoobtainsabloodmeal
fromahumanhostthroughitspointedproboscis.A
knownmalarialvector,thespeciescanfoundfrom
EgyptallthewaytoChina.
Credit:JimGathany/CDC

Usingagroundbreakinggeneeditingtechnique,UniversityofCaliforniascientistshave
createdastrainofmosquitoescapableofrapidlyintroducingmalariablockinggenesintoa
mosquitopopulationthroughitsprogeny,ultimatelyeliminatingtheinsects'abilitytotransmit
thediseasetohumans.
Thisnewmodelrepresentsanotableadvanceintheefforttoestablishanantimalarialmosquito
population,whichwithfurtherdevelopmentcouldhelperadicateadiseasethatsickensmillions
worldwideeachyear.
Tocreatethisbreed,researchersattheIrvineandSanDiegocampusesinsertedaDNAelementinto
thegermlineofAnophelesstephensimosquitoesthatresultedinthegenepreventingmalaria
transmissionbeingpassedontoanastonishing99.5percentofoffspring.A.stephensiisaleading
malariavectorinAsia.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151123210211.htm?hootPostID=1420687b0dda72ba4d4a08a88f264414

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11/26/2015

ScientistscreategeneticallymodifiedmalariablockingmosquitoesScienceDaily

ThestudyunderlinesthegrowingutilityoftheCrisprmethod,apowerfulgeneeditingtoolthatallows
accesstoacell'snucleustosnipDNAtoeitherreplacemutatedgenesorinsertnewones.Results
appearthisweekintheearlyonlineeditionofProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences.
"Thisopensuptherealpromisethatthistechniquecanbeadaptedforeliminatingmalaria,"said
AnthonyJames,DistinguishedProfessorofmolecularbiology&biochemistryandmicrobiology&
moleculargeneticsatUCI.
Fornearly20years,theJameslabhasfocusedonengineeringantidiseasemosquitoes.Hisanti
denguefevermodelshavebeentestedincagetrialsinMexico,andin2012,hehelpedshowthat
antibodiesthatimpairtheparasite'sbiologyadaptedfromtheimmunesystemsofmicecanbe
introducedintomosquitoes.Thistrait,though,couldonlybeinheritedbyabouthalfoftheprogeny.
Earlierthisyear,UCSanDiegobiologistsEthanBierandValentinoGantzworkingwithfruitflies
announcedthedevelopmentofanewmethodforgeneratingmutationsinbothcopiesofagene.This
mutagenicchainreactioninvolvedusingtheCrisprassociatedCas9nucleaseenzymeandallowedfor
transmissionofmutationsthroughthegermlinewithaninheritancerateof95percent.
ThetwogroupscollaboratedtofuseBierandGantz'smethodwithJames'mosquitoes.Gantzpackaged
antimalariageneswithaCas9enzyme(whichcancutDNA)andaguideRNAtocreateagenetic
"cassette"that,wheninjectedintoamosquitoembryo,targetedahighlyspecificspotonthegermline
DNAtoinserttheantimalariaantibodygenes.
ToensurethattheelementcarryingthemalariablockingantibodieshadreachedthedesiredDNAsite,
theresearchersincludedinthecassetteaproteinthatgavetheprogenyredfluorescenceintheeyes.
Almost100percentofoffspring99.5percent,tobeexactexhibitedthistrait,whichJamessaidisan
amazingresultforsuchasystemthatcanchangeinheritabletraits.
Headdedthatfurthertestingwillbeneededtoconfirmtheefficacyoftheantibodiesandthatthiscould
eventuallyleadtofieldstudies."Thisisasignificantfirststep,"saidJames,aNationalAcademyof
Sciencesmember."Weknowthegeneworks.Themosquitoeswecreatedarenotthefinalbrand,but
weknowthistechnologyallowsustoefficientlycreatelargepopulations."
Bier,aprofessorofbiologyatUCSanDiego,alsonotedthat"theabilityofthissystemtocarrylarge
geneticpayloadsshouldhavebroadapplicationstothefutureuseofrelatedCrisprbased'activegenetic'
systems."
Malariaisoneoftheworld'sleadinghealthproblems.Morethan40percentoftheworld'spopulationlive
inareaswherethereisariskofcontractingthedisease.AccordingtotheCentersforDiseaseControl&
Prevention,300millionto500millioncasesofmalariaoccureachyear,andnearly1millionpeopledieof
thediseaseannuallylargelyinfants,youngchildrenandpregnantwomen,mostoftheminAfrica.
NijoleJasinskiene,OlgaTatarenkova,AnikoFazekasandVanessaMaciasofUCIcontributedtothe
study,whichwassupportedbygrantsfromtheNationalInstitutesofHealth(AI070654,NS029870,
AI29746andAI116433)andtheW.M.KeckFoundationandagiftfromDrs.SarahSandellandMichael
Marshall(toBier).

StorySource:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151123210211.htm?hootPostID=1420687b0dda72ba4d4a08a88f264414

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11/26/2015

ScientistscreategeneticallymodifiedmalariablockingmosquitoesScienceDaily

TheabovepostisreprintedfrommaterialsprovidedbyUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine.Note:Materials
maybeeditedforcontentandlength.

JournalReference:
1. ValentinoM.Gantz,NijoleJasinskiene,OlgaTatarenkova,AnikoFazekas,VanessaM.Macias,
EthanBier,AnthonyA.James.HighlyefficientCas9mediatedgenedriveforpopulation
modificationofthemalariavectormosquitoAnophelesstephensi.ProceedingsoftheNational
AcademyofSciences,2015201521077DOI:10.1073/pnas.1521077112

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UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine."Scientistscreategeneticallymodifiedmalariablockingmosquitoes."
ScienceDaily.ScienceDaily,23November2015.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151123210211.htm>.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151123210211.htm?hootPostID=1420687b0dda72ba4d4a08a88f264414

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