Keywords: Microbiome
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Biotechnological Potential of Microorganisms for Mosquito Population Control and Reduction in Vector CompetenceR. D. Katak, A. M. Cintra, B. C. Burini, O. Marinotti, J. A. Souza-Neto and E. M. Rocha, Insects, 14. 2023.
Mosquitoes transmit pathogens that cause human diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya, yellow fever, Zika fever, and filariasis. Biotechnological approaches using microorganisms have a significant potential to control mosquito populations and reduce their vector ... |
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A recombinant Aspergillus oryzae fungus transmitted from larvae to adults of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes inhibits malaria parasite oocyst developmentL. Kianifard, A. M. Rafiqi, O. Akcakir, A. S. I. Aly, P. F. Billingsley and S. Uysal, Scientific Reports, 13:12177. 2023.
The control of malaria parasite transmission from mosquitoes to humans is hampered by decreasing efficacies of insecticides, development of drug resistance against the last-resort antimalarials, and the absence of effective vaccines. Herein, the anti-plasmodial transmission ... |
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A mosquito symbiont takes down malariaA. Taglialegna, Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2023.
Malaria, a parasitic infection transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, is globally prevalent. Control strategies for malaria include insecticides and antiparasitic drugs, which target the mosquito vector or the parasite in the human host, respectively. The effectiveness of these ... |
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Malaria’s latest foe? Bacteria.M. Coulson, Johns Hopkins, 2023.
In a new paper published in Science, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, PhD, professor emeritus in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, and his colleagues, in collaboration with researchers at GSK Global Health Medicines R&D, show that a naturally occurring bacterium and a chemical it ... |
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A naturally occurring bacteria can stop the malaria parasite right in a mosquito’s gutA. Bhattacharya, Quartz, 2023.
Scientists at a GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) research facility in Spain discovered that a strain of Delftia tsuruhatensis bacterium, named Tres Cantos 1 (TC1), inhibits the malaria parasite in mosquitoes, known as Plasmodium. Researchers suspected something was going on when the ... |
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Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1 symbiont suppresses malaria transmission by anopheline mosquitoesW. Huang, J. Rodrigues, E. Bilgo, J. R. Tormo, J. D. Challenger, C. De Cozar-Gallardo, I. Pérez-Victoria, F. Reyes, P. Castañeda-Casado, E. J. Gnambani, D. F. d. S. Hien, M. Konkobo, B. Urones, I. Coppens, A. Mendoza-Losana, L. Ballell, A. Diabate, T. S., Science, 381:533-540. 2023.
Malaria control demands the development of a wide range of complementary strategies. We describe the properties of a naturally occurring, non?genetically modified symbiotic bacterium, Delftia tsuruhatensis TC1, which was isolated from mosquitoes incapable of sustaining the ... |
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Microbe stops mosquitoes from harboring malaria parasiteC. Offord, Science, 2023.
Researchers have tried to use microbes to control mosquito-borne diseases before. The virus-fighting bacterium Wolbachia pipientis has shown particular promise against dengue fever in recent clinical trials and is already used in some areas of the world. But most methods for ... |
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Engineered Gut Symbiotic Bacterium-Mediated RNAi for Effective Control of Anopheles Mosquito LarvaeJ. J. Ding, C. L. Cui, G. D. Wang, G. Wei, L. Bai, Y. F. Li, P. L. Sun, L. Dong, Z. C. Liu, J. Q. Yun, F. Li, K. Li, L. He and S. B. Wang, Microbiology Spectrum, 2023.
Anopheles mosquitoes are the primary vectors for the transmission of malaria parasites, which poses a devastating burden on global public health and welfare. The recent invasion of Anopheles stephensi in Africa has made malaria eradication more challenging due to its outdoor ... |
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Holobiont perspectives on tripartite interactions among microbiota, mosquitoes, and pathogensR. Zheng, Q. Wang, R. Wu, P. N. Paradkar, A. A. Hoffmann and G. H. Wang, ISME, 2023.
Mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and malaria cause a significant global health burden. Unfortunately, current insecticides and environmental control strategies aimed at the vectors of these diseases are only moderately effective in decreasing disease burden. Understanding and ... |
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Engineered symbiotic bacteria interfering Nosema redox system inhibit microsporidia parasitism in honeybeesH. Lang, H. Wang, H. Wang, X. Xie, X. Hu, X. Zhang and H. Zheng, bioRxiv, 2023.01.13.524015. 2023.
Nosema ceranae is an emergent microsporidia parasite of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), which causes serious nosemosis implicated in honeybee colony losses worldwide. N. ceranae is an obligate intracellular eukaryotic parasite that mainly invades the midgut of honeybees. ... |
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Combining transgenesis with paratransgenesis to fight malariaW. Huang, J. Vega-Rodriguez, C. Kizito, S.-J. Cha and M. Jacobs-Lorena, eLife, 11:e77584. 2022.
Malaria is among the deadliest infectious diseases, and Plasmodium, the causative agent, needs to complete a complex development cycle in its vector mosquito for transmission to occur. Two promising strategies to curb transmission are transgenesis, consisting of genetically ... |
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An evaluation of fusion partner proteins for paratransgenesis in Asaia bogorensisC. Grogan, M. Bennett and D. J. Lampe, Plos One, 17:18. 2022.
Mosquitoes transmit many pathogens responsible for human diseases, such as malaria which is caused by parasites in the genus Plasmodium. Current strategies to control vector-transmitted diseases are increasingly undermined by mosquito and pathogen resistance, so additional ... |
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Rational engineering of a synthetic insect-bacterial mutualismY. Su, H.-C. Lin, L. S. Teh, F. Chevance, I. James, C. Mayfield, K. G. Golic, J. A. Gagnon, O. Rog and C. Dale, Current Biology, 2022.
Summary Many insects maintain mutualistic associations with bacterial endosymbionts, but little is known about how they originate in nature. In this study, we describe the establishment and manipulation of a synthetic insect-bacterial symbiosis in a weevil host. Following egg ... |
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Biologists engineered insect-bacterial mutualism in ‘bucket list’ achievementAnnonymous, @THEU, 2022.
A new paper in Current Biology authored by Crystal Su and other collaborators in the School of Biological Sciences describes the development of a novel, synthetic insect-bacterial symbiosis that is sustained through many insect generations by transovarial bacterial transmission. ... |
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Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus microbiome/virome: new strategies for controlling arboviral transmission?M. Gómez, D. Martinez, M. Muñoz and J. D. Ramírez, Parasites and Vectors, 15:287. 2022.
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main vectors of highly pathogenic viruses for humans, such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV), which cause febrile, hemorrhagic, and neurological diseases and remain a major threat to global public health. The high ... |
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Sexual transmission of Anopheles gambiae densovirus (AgDNV) leads to disseminated infection in mated femalesK. L. Werling, R. M. Johnson, H. C. Metz and J. L. Rasgon, Parasites and Vectors, 15:219. 2022.
Anopheles gambiae densovirus (AgDNV) is an insect-specific, single-stranded DNA virus that infects An. gambiae sensu stricto (s.s.), the major mosquito species responsible for transmitting malaria parasites throughout sub-Saharan Africa. AgDNV is a benign virus that is very ... |
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Wolbachia interacts with the microbiome to shape fitness-associated traits during seasonal adaptation in Drosophila melanogasterL. P. Henry, M. Fernandez, S. Wolf and J. Ayroles, bioRxiv, 2022.05.31.494239. 2022.
The microbiome contributes to many different host traits, but its role in host adaptation remains enigmatic. The fitness benefits of the microbiome often depend on ecological conditions, but fluctuations in both the microbiome and environment modulate these fitness benefits. ... |
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New weapons to fight malaria transmission: A historical viewW. Huang, S.-J. Cha and M. Jacobs-Lorena, Entomological Research, 2022.
The stagnation of our fight against malaria in recent years, mainly due to the development of mosquito insecticide resistance, argues for the urgent development of new weapons. The dramatic evolution of molecular tools in the last few decades led to a better understanding of ... |
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Overview of paratransgenesis as a strategy to control pathogen transmission by insect vectorsN. A. Ratcliffe, J. P. Furtado Pacheco, P. Dyson, H. C. Castro, M. S. Gonzalez, P. Azambuja and C. B. Mello, Parasites and Vectors, 15:112. 2022.
This article presents an overview of paratransgenesis as a strategy to control pathogen transmission by insect vectors. It first briefly summarises some of the disease-causing pathogens vectored by insects and emphasises the need for innovative control methods to counter the ... |
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A natural symbiotic bacterium drives mosquito refractoriness to Plasmodium infection via secretion of an antimalarial lipaseH. Gao, L. Bai, Y. M. Jiang, W. Huang, L. L. Wang, S. G. Li, G. D. Zhu, D. Q. Wang, Z. H. Huang, X. S. Li, J. Cao, L. B. Jiang, M. Jacobs-Lorena, S. Zhan and S. B. Wang, Nature Microbiology, 25. 2021.
The stalling global progress in the fight against malaria prompts the urgent need to develop new intervention strategies. Whilst engineered symbiotic bacteria have been shown to confer mosquito resistance to parasite infection, a major challenge for field implementation is to ... |
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Engineering a Culturable Serratia symbiotica Strain for Aphid ParatransgenesisK. M. Elston, J. Perreau, G. P. Maeda, N. A. Moran and J. E. Barrick, Applied Environmental Microbiology, 87. 2020.
Aphids are global agricultural pests and important models for bacterial symbiosis. To date, none of the native symbionts of aphids have been genetically manipulated, which limits our understanding of how they interact with their hosts. Serratia symbiotica CWBI-2.3(T) is a ... |
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Microbiome Innovation in Agriculture: Development of Microbial Based Tools for Insect Pest ManagementM. Qadri, S. Short, K. Gast, J. Hernandez and A. C.-N. Wong, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4. 2020.
This review emphasizes the potential and use of microbes in sustainable insect pest management. We first review the diverse insect traits shaped by insect-microbe associations that span nutrition, immunity, ecological interactions with natural enemy, insecticide resistance, and ... |
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A bacterial gene-drive system efficiently edits and inactivates a high copy number antibiotic resistance locusValderrama, J. A., S. S. Kulkarni, V. Nizet and E. Bier, Nature Communications, 10:5726. 2019.
Gene-drive systems in diploid organisms bias the inheritance of one allele over another. CRISPR-based gene-drive expresses a guide RNA (gRNA) into the genome at the site where the gRNA directs Cas9-mediated cleavage. In the presence of Cas9, the gRNA cassette and any linked cargo ... |
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New CRISPR system efficiently battles antibiotic resistanceBlack, Samantha, The Science Advisory Board, 2019.
Researchers from the University of California San Diego have developed a brand new CRISPR-based gene-drive system that dramatically increases the efficiency of inactivation of genes responsible for antibiotic resistance. The new system is detailed on December 16 in Nature ... |
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Antibiotic resistance hoops countered by gene drive feedback loopsGEN, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, 2019.
Where a gene drive that cuts and destroys plasmids may fail, a gene drive that cuts, pastes, and copies plasmids may succeed. The “where,” in this case, is an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that carries multiple copies of an antibiotic-resistance gene. That is, the target ... |
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Tackling antibiotic resistance head-on with CRISPRThomas, L., News Medical Life Sciences, 2019.
With modern advances in genetic engineering occurring almost every day, the latest discovery concerns antibiotic resistance. Using the powerful gene editor CRISPR, scientists reported the development of a gene-drive system that is 100 times as efficient as other current systems ... |
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Predicting the spatial dynamics of Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti arbovirus vector populations in heterogeneous landscapesHancock, PAR, S. A.; Koenraadt, C. J. M.; Scott, T. W.; Hoffmann, A. A.; Godfray, H. C. J., Journal of Applied Ecology, 56:1674-1686. 2019.
A promising strategy for reducing the transmission of dengue and other arboviral human diseases by Aedes aegypti mosquito vector populations involves field introductions of the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia. Wolbachia infections inhibit viral transmission by the mosquito, and ... |
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Design, execution, and analysis of CRISPR-Cas9-based deletions and genetic interaction networks in the fungal pathogen Candida albicansHalder, VP, C. B. M.; Chavez, A.; Shapiro, R. S., Nature Protocols, 14:955-975. 2019.
The study of fungal pathogens is of immediate importance, yet progress is hindered by the technical challenges of genetic manipulation. For Candida species, their inability to maintain plasmids, unusual codon usage, and inefficient homologous recombination are among the obstacles ... |
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CRISPR in Parasitology: Not Exactly Cut and Dried!Bryant, JMB, S.; Glover, L.; Hutchinson, S.; Rachidi, N., Trends in Parasitology, 35:409-422. 2019.
CRISPR/Cas9 technology has been developing rapidly in the field of parasitology, allowing for the dissection of molecular processes with unprecedented efficiency. Optimization and implementation of a new technology like CRISPR, especially in nonmodel organisms, requires ... |
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Two-By-One model of cytoplasmic incompatibility: Synthetic recapitulation by transgenic expression of cifA and cifB in DrosophilaShropshire, JDB, S. R., PLOS Genetics, 15:e1008221. 2019.
Wolbachia are maternally inherited bacteria that infect arthropod species worldwide and are deployed in vector control to curb arboviral spread using cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI kills embryos when an infected male mates with an uninfected female, but the lethality is ... |
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Engineered integrative and conjugative elements for efficient and inducible DNA transfer to undomesticated bacteriaBrophy, JANT, Alexander J.; Adams, Bryn L.; Renberg, Rebecca L.; Stratis-Cullum, Dimitra N.; Grossman, Alan D.; Voigt, Christopher A., Nature Microbiology, 3:1043-1053. 2018.
Engineering microorganisms to promote human or plant health will require manipulation of robust bacteria that are capable of surviving in harsh, competitive environments. Genetic engineering of undomesticated bacteria can be limited by an inability to transfer DNA into the cell. ... |
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Development of a multi-locus CRISPR gene drive system in budding yeastYan, YF, Gregory C., Scientific reports, 8:17277-17277. 2018.
The discovery of CRISPR/Cas gene editing has allowed for major advances in many biomedical disciplines and basic research. One arrangement of this biotechnology, a nuclease-based gene drive, can rapidly deliver a genetic element through a given population and studies in fungi and ... |
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A transatlantic perspective on 20 emerging issues in biological engineeringWintle, BCB, C. R.; Rhodes, C.; Molloy, J. C.; Millett, P.; Adam, L.; Breitling, R.; Carlson, R.; Casagrande, R.; Dando, M.; Doubleday, R.; Drexler, E.; Edwards, B.; Ellis, T.; Evans, N. G.; Hammond, R.; Haseloff, J.; Kahl, L.; Kuiken, T.; Lichman, B. R.; Matthewman, C. A.; Napier, J. A.; OhEigeartaigh, S. S.; Patron, N. J.; Perello, E.; Shapira, P.; Tait, J.; Takano, E.; Sutherland, W. J., eLife, 6:21. 2017.
Advances in biological engineering are likely to have substantial impacts on global society. To explore these potential impacts we ran a horizon scanning exercise to capture a range of perspectives on the opportunities and risks presented by biological engineering. We first ... |
