A GUT BACTERIUM THAT ATTACKS DENGUE AND MALARIA PATHOGENS AND THEIR MOSQUITO VECTORS
Just like those of
humans, insect guts are full of microbes, and the microbiota can influence the
insect's ability to transmit diseases. A study published on October 23rd in PLOS Pathogens reports that a bacterium isolated from the gut of an Aedes mosquito can reduce infection of
mosquitoes by malaria parasites and dengue virus. The bacterium can also
directly inhibit these pathogens in the test tube, and shorten the life span of
the mosquitoes that transmit both diseases
George
Dimopoulos and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University, USA, had previously
isolated Csp_P, a member of the family of chromobacteria, from the gut of Aedes
aegypti mosquitoes
(which transmit dengue fever) in Panama. In the present study, they examined
its actions on both mosquitoes and pathogens, and the results suggest that
Csp_P might help to fight malaria and dengue fever at different levels.
The
researchers added Csp_P to sugar water fed to mosquitoes and found that the
bacteria are able to quickly colonize the gut of the two most important
mosquito disease vectors, namely Aedes aegypti andAnopheles
gambiae (the latter
transmit malaria). Moreover, the presence of Csp_P in the gut reduced the
susceptibility of the respective mosquitoes to infection with the malaria
parasite Plasmodium falciparum or with dengue virus. And even without
gut colonization, exposure to Csp_P through food or breeding water shortened
the lifespan of adult mosquitoes and mosquito larvae of both species.
When
the researchers tested whether Csp_P could act against the malaria or dengue
pathogens directly, they found that the bacterium, likely through production of
toxic metabolites, can inhibit growth of Plasmodium at various stages during the
parasite's life cycle, and also abolish dengue virus infectivity. In addition,
Csp_P can inhibit growth of many other bacteria.
The
authors suggest that these toxic metabolites could potentially be developed
into therapeutic drugs for malaria and dengue. Overall, they conclude that
"its broad-spectrum anti-pathogen properties together with its ability to
kill mosquitoes make Csp_P a particularly interesting candidate for the
development of novel control strategies for the two most important vector-borne
diseases, and they therefore warrant further in-depth study."
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