1. Plasmodium falciparum (Haemosporodia: Plasmodiidae) and O'nyong-nyong virus development in a transgenic Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) strain
- Author
-
Eryu Wang, John D. Mumford, Carole A. Long, Scott C. Weaver, Katzutoyo Miura, Ellen M. Dotson, Mark Q. Benedict, Rachel D. Rotenberry, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Subjects
Male ,Sterility ,Transgene ,Anopheles gambiae ,030231 tropical medicine ,Plasmodium falciparum ,competence ,malaria ,Context (language use) ,Mosquito Vectors ,Virus ,Animals, Genetically Modified ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Tropical Medicine ,Anopheles ,parasitic diseases ,Animals ,O'nyong-nyong Virus ,Veterinary Sciences ,GENE DRIVE ,11 Medical and Health Sciences ,030304 developmental biology ,risk ,transgenic ,0303 health sciences ,Science & Technology ,General Veterinary ,biology ,Infectious dose ,06 Biological Sciences ,biology.organism_classification ,Modeling/GIS, Risk Assessment, Economic Impact ,Virology ,MOSQUITO ,Titer ,Infectious Diseases ,arbovirus ,Insect Science ,Parasitology ,Female ,Life Sciences & Biomedicine ,Entomology - Abstract
Transgenic Anopheles gambiae Giles (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes have been developed that confer sexual sterility on males that carry a transgene encoding a protein which cuts ribosomal DNA. A relevant risk concern with transgenic mosquitoes is that their capacity to transmit known pathogens could be greater than the unmodified form. In this study, the ability to develop two human pathogens in these transgenic mosquitoes carrying a homing endonuclease which is expressed in the testes was compared with its nontransgenic siblings. Infections were performed with Plasmodium falciparum (Welch) and o’nyong-nyong virus (ONNV) and the results between the transgenic and nontransgenic sibling females were compared. There was no difference observed with ONNV isolate SG650 in intrathoracic infections or the 50% oral infectious dose measured at 14 d postinfection or in mean body titers. Some significant differences were observed for leg titers at the medium and highest doses for those individuals in which virus titer could be detected. No consistent difference was observed between the transgenic and nontransgenic comparator females in their ability to develop P. falciparum NF54 strain parasites. This particular transgene caused no significant effect in the ability of mosquitoes to become infected by these two pathogens in this genetic background. These results are discussed in the context of risk to human health if these transgenic individuals were present in the environment.
- Published
- 2019