On the evolutionary ecology of mosquito immunity and the use of transgenic mosquitoes for malaria control

Abstract

Mosquitoes that are genetically manipulated to encapsulate the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are being considered a possible method to control malaria. Hopes for this have been raised by the identification of genes involved in the mosquito’s encapsulation response and by advances in the tools required to transform mosquitoes. But will such genes be able to spread in natural populations? What will their impact be on the epidemiology of the disease? This article attempts to give answers to these questions by reviewing some of theoretical and empirical considerations underlying the evolutionary epidemiology of genetic manipulation and refractoriness