GENETIC discoveries could lead to new ways of tackling malaria. A team at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, has discovered two mosquito genes, LRIM1 and TEP1, coding for proteins that attack the malaria parasites as they reproduce in the mosquito鈥檚 gut.
But the parasites seem to exploit two other mosquito genes, CTL4 and CTLMA2, to protect themselves. If CTL4 is disabled, 97 per cent of parasites are killed (Science, vol 303, p 2030, and Cell, vol 116, p 661).
The hope is that chemicals can be found to block these protective genes or kill the parasites in the same way as LRIM1 or TEP1. 鈥淲e think the best route is to develop chemicals that can be delivered like pesticides, or in mosquito feeders,鈥� says team member George Christophides.
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An alternative approach would be to genetically engineer mosquitoes that cannot transmit the disease. But ensuring GM mosquitoes replace all malaria-carrying kinds would be a huge challenge. Low-tech methods such as nets impregnated with cheap pesticides are likely to be the most cost-effective means of preventing malaria for some time to come.