Genetically-modified mosquitoes that are resistant to a malaria parasite may one day stop the spread of the disease, a new US study says.
In research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists describe how the genetically-modified, or GM, mosquitoes outbred natural mosquitoes when fed mouse blood infected with a malaria parasite.
The research may offer a way of controlling malaria by introducing the genetically altered insects into the wild and having them take over from their natural cousins.
The scientists at Johns Hopkins University combined equal numbers of genetically modified and natural mosquitoes in the laboratory and let them feed on malaria-infected mice.
The genetically-altered insects survived in greater numbers and laid more eggs.
After nine generations, 70% of the mosquitoes were GM ones compared with 50% at the outset of the experiment, Professor Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena and his colleagues write.
The study suggests that when feeding on malaria-infected blood, "transgenic malaria-resistant mosquitoes have a selective advantage over non-transgenic mosquitoes", the authors write.
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