Blocking malaria parasite invasion of mosquito salivary glands

Release of genetically engineered mosquitoes resistant to parasite infections has been proposed as a novel way to control malaria transmission, and several important advances have been made in anticipation of testing this approach. In particular, the development of synthetic effector genes that block parasite development in mosquito hosts has exploited a number of different mechanisms that result in parasite-resistant phenotypes, and those that target specifically the sporozoites are reviewed here. The use of a number of synthetic genes based on different mechanisms in transgenic mosquitoes will make the selection of resistant parasites unlikely.