Page 8 - Inspiring UG

Understanding the Tripartite

Parasite-killing Relationship
between Midgut Bacteria,

the Mosquito and Plasmodium
using Transcriptomics.

Although prevalence has reduced considerably
over the last few years, malaria remains a
debilitating disease of immense global concern. Dr. Jewelna Akorli
Interventions such as the use of insecticide-
treated bed nets, and indoor residual spraying,
have contributed to reducing the incidence of into them and that are infected with
malaria. The long-term use of these strategies is plasmodium, with those with neither the
however attenuated by resistance to bacteria nor the plasmodium. The results
insecticides, emphasizing the need for should provide irst-hand information about
alternate control mechanisms. gene and protein families that can potentially
block plasmodium transmission. Ultimately,
the goal of her inquiry is to reach the point
With the mosquito being the primary
transmission source, research that explores where mosquito bites do not transmit the
how the development of an ingested malaria parasite; that is the ultimate goal of
parasite can be arrested, and transmission transmission-blocking, according to Dr. Akorli.
prevented, would seem to be a pro itable
direction. This is the aim of Dr. Jewelna Akorli's
research on the mosquito's gut.

T h e m i d - s e c t i o n o f t h e m o s q u i to' s
gut—referred to as the midgut—is enriched
with a community of bacteria which has been
identi ied as a critical factor associated with the
'killing' of plasmodium parasites that the
mosquito ingests with its bloodmeal. This
tripartite link between the mosquito, bacteria
and parasite portends promise for a strategy of
the transmission-blocking of parasites from
mosquito to human. Leveraging this
relationship calls for scientists to interrogate
what species of bacteria are responsible, modes
of transmission, and what happens to the
parasites to make them unable to further
develop.

Dr. Akorli's work on the midgut has been
supported by the prestigious Cambridge-Africa
Partnership for Research Excellence (CAPREx)
Fellowship. Her research investigates the
tripartite parasite-killing relationship by
comparing the expression of genes
Transcrip onal effect
(transcriptomics) between mosquitoes that
have a speci ic species of bacteria introduced

6 Inspiring