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Binod Pant (Northeastern University, Network Science Institute)

April 17 @ 10:40 am - 11:30 am

Could malaria mosquitoes be controlled by periodic release of transgenic mosquitocidal Metarhizium pingshaense? A mathematical modeling approach

Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest vector-borne diseases, with WHO reporting 249 million cases and 608,000 deaths across 85 countries in 2022 alone. Widespread insecticide-based interventions have significantly reduced malaria burden, but these gains are now threatened by increasing Anopheles resistance to all chemical compounds in current vector control tools. Entomopathogenic fungi show promise as alternative biological control agents against adult malaria mosquitoes by infecting them through contact and reducing their lifespan. Transgenic Metarhizium pingshaense strain engineered to express insecticidal toxins significantly outperform natural strains, achieving greater than 80% mosquito mortality within one week compared to 1-2 weeks for non-transgenic variants. This work represents the first attempt to mathematically analyze the population-level impact of periodically releasing transgenic fungus-exposed male mosquitoes, providing critical insights into optimal release strategies for achieving significant wild mosquito population suppression in malaria-endemic settings.

Details

Date:
April 17
Time:
10:40 am - 11:30 am
Event Category:

Venue

Zoom
To obtain the Zoom link, please contact Youngmin Park at park.y@ufl.edu. + Google Map