Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 4112 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
Science. 2011 Feb 25;331(6020):1074-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1199115.
Metarhizium anisopliae infects mosquitoes through the cuticle and proliferates in the hemolymph. To allow M. anisopliae to combat malaria in mosquitoes with advanced malaria infections, we produced recombinant strains expressing molecules that target sporozoites as they travel through the hemolymph to the salivary glands. Eleven days after a Plasmodium-infected blood meal, mosquitoes were treated with M. anisopliae expressing salivary gland and midgut peptide 1 (SM1), which blocks attachment of sporozoites to salivary glands; a single-chain antibody that agglutinates sporozoites; or scorpine, which is an antimicrobial toxin. These reduced sporozoite counts by 71%, 85%, and 90%, respectively. M. anisopliae expressing scorpine and an SM1:scorpine fusion protein reduced sporozoite counts by 98%, suggesting that Metarhizium-mediated inhibition of Plasmodium development could be a powerful weapon for combating malaria.
金龟子绿僵菌通过表皮感染蚊子,并在血淋巴中增殖。为了让金龟子绿僵菌在感染疟疾的蚊子中对抗疟疾,我们生产了表达针对在血淋巴中向唾液腺移动的子孢子的分子的重组菌株。在感染疟原虫的血液餐后 11 天,用表达唾液腺和中肠肽 1(SM1)、凝集子孢子的单链抗体或抗菌毒素 scorpine 的金龟子绿僵菌处理蚊子。这分别使子孢子数量减少了 71%、85%和 90%。表达 scorpine 和 SM1:scorpine 融合蛋白的金龟子绿僵菌使子孢子数量减少了 98%,表明金龟子绿僵菌抑制疟原虫发育的能力可能是对抗疟疾的有力武器。