[DIYbio] Re: Bti cry proteins

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