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Student 10-Minute Presentation

Physiology, Biochemistry, and Toxicology

Student

Student Competition

Grad 10-min Competition: PBT, Biocontrol and Invasive Species

Starving malaria parasites: Transgenic manipulation of vitamin B5 in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes

Monday, November 11, 2024
9:24 AM – 9:36 AM MST
Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 126 C, PCC
Oral Presentation Student Competition
Malaria parasites must acquire pantothenate, also known as vitamin B5, from their mosquito and human hosts to successfully complete development. Within mosquitoes, pantothenate levels can be reduced by converting this precursor vitamin into Coenzyme A (CoA), via the rate limiting enzyme pantothenate kinase (PanK). We genetically engineered the AstePanK mRNA sequence into A. stephensi mosquitoes using piggyBac transposase. Expression of the AstePanK transcript was regulated by two different tissue specific promotors. The first promoter, vitellogenin (VG), expresses AstePanK in the fat body, where CoA is involved in lipid synthesis. The VG promoter also expresses AstePanK in a bloodmeal specific manner, allowing us to induce PanK expression via blood feeding only when needed. The second promoter, carboxypeptidase (CP), drives AstePanK expression in the mosquito midgut, the first epithelial barrier encountered by the Plasmodium parasite. While CP transgene expression is increased shortly after a bloodmeal (2-6 h), transgene expression occurs in the midgut at lower levels even in non-bloodfed mosquitoes. Both the Vg-AstePanK and CP-AstePanK lines expressed AstePanK in their respective tissues and this presentation will explore the impact of increased PanK expression on pantothenate levels, mosquito fitness and Plasmodium infections. The primary goal of this project is to generate transgenic mosquitoes with reduced pantothenate levels that are incapable of harboring Plasmodium parasites, and we believe our current research will provide the foundation for this novel control strategy.