[DIYbio] Re: Bti cry proteins

Hi Go

First of all, many thanks for your kind wishes!

Regarding GMO Mosquitoes the IAEA sort of pioneered that idea by sponsoring research which used radiation sources to sterilize male Mosquitoes with the idea that a mass release of sterilized Mosquitoes next to breeding grounds would prevent female Mosquitoes from flying about to find blood proteins for their egg development. Same approach apparently with GMO. Expect that GMO Mosquitoes are not radiation sick while following their instincts…

The problem could be to raise and push enough modified Mosquitoes into the environment to make a dent in the population. They would need to compete successfully with unmodified males for females when these hatch from the breeding grounds. So the right timing would also be a big issue.

GMO Mosquitoe release on a large scale does not appear in my mind to be a technology suitable for local ownership of rural communities.

Regarding Bill Gates and his foundation – he is doing absolutely great things with his initiative on the application of vaccines and the development of new ones – like for Malaria parasites. His role model is obviously the final eradication of Smallpox in India. However in Smallpox the only host for the two viruses is men, whereas Malaria parasites infecting men also feel comfortable in apes and there is a host of other Malaria parasites specialized in birds, reptiles and mammals. The research for Malaria vaccines is going on at least since 20 years. Without much success so far which could be partly because of a high genetic variability of the parasite.

We did submit a proposal along our line to the Bill Gates Foundation a few years ago without success. Involved US and Israel researchers. We did submit rather recently another proposal to MESA involving a German University and the national institute for plant safety. Also without success which is why I am trying the open science route now.

By the way – Bill Gates did apparently a very strange research project on Malaria when the star wars project was phased out involving the laser technology from that project and their scientists (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser). That project reminds me of the Glomar Challenger build by Howard Hughes as the cover up for picking a Russian sub with nuclear torpedoes from the bottom of the sea.

I don't know much about malaria but  believe that GMO modified mosquitoes were recently released in the Florida Keys (? not sure, but I'll find the news of you need it) to combat Nile disease. The approach was to modify just males but when the breed with non-GMO females, offspring is non-viable. The good part is that one does not propagate GMO modified organism (GMO is a difficult thing for public to swallow) and they influence just that species. 

Also take a look at Gates Foundation, I think they have projects for combating Malaria.

Good luck!  

On Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 5:24:58 AM UTC-6, Heinrich Meurer wrote:

Hi all

This is a geologist calling, who happens to be interested in Malaria prevention by vector control. Idea: use the Bt maize and associated safety research as a model to grow a plant (maize or switchgrass) which expresses larvicidal proteins encoded by cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis. This would allow to produce locally a dirt cheap and therefor sustainable biological larvicide which is safe, easy to handle and to store under tropical conditions. Local communities can then take for the first time ownership of fight against Malaria. This by applying simple agro technologies like drying plants and grinding them down to a powder of the mesh size of the larvae yaws…

There are certain more beneficial aspects to consider:

The protein will be capsulated inside lignin and therefor float for a long time in the feeding zone instead of sinking quickly to the bottom, as current formulations do.

For the same reason the protein will be protected from degrading UV radiation as opposed to current formulations which break down under UV making the protein useless. Preferred breeding ground for the most dangerous Malaria Mosquitoe Anopheles gambiae is clear sunlit still water which means a lot of sunshine.

As the plant derived protein will float, it could be coated (Glycerin) to make it "self-spreading" on the water reaching, otherwise inaccessible spots in breeding grounds. Of course helped by the occasional wind and current.

Of course one also needs a technology to map even the smallest breeding grounds in the jungle within a sanitation corridor around a village. That being worked on using small model planes and modified point and shoot cameras taking pics in the near infrared.

Does the above make any sense? And if yes could it be conceivable that DIY biologists take a part in it as an open science project?

Thank you very much for your time and patience. Please remember – I am a geologist and generally chip away on rocks!

Heinrich