Nature's Flytrap: A New Approach to Combating the Spread of Malaria
Thompson, Rebecca
Thompson, Rebecca
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Abstract
Malaria, a mosquito spread disease, puts more than 2 billion people at risk every year. In the past, the main method for mosquito control has been chemical insecticides, but as mosquitos develop resistance to these compounds, they become less effective. The fungus Metarhizium is a natural pathogen of the mosquito, and attracts them using the chemical compound longifolene, which is released from infected insect cadavers. In a recently published article (Tang et al., 2025), scientists successfully engineered the fungus Metarhizium pingshaense to release large amounts of longifolene. The engineered fungi infected mosquitoes at much higher rate than the wild-type fungi did, and infections were fatal in over 90% of the insect subjects. This study reveals that use of Metarhizium fungi could be an effective method in controlling mosquito populations and reducing the spread of malaria, especially in developing and rural communities. Tang, D., Chen, J., Zhang, Y., Tang, X., Wang, X., Yu, C., Cheng, X., Zhang, J., Shi, W., Zhen, Q., Liu, S., Huang, Y., Ning, J., Zhu, G., Zhang, M., Hu, J., Bilgo, E., Diabate, A., Ying, S.-H., � Fang, W. (2025). Engineered metarhizium fungi produce longifolene to attract and kill mosquitoes. Nature Microbiology, 10(12), 3075-3093. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-025-02155-9
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Date
1/1/2026
Student Status
Sophomore (Graduating in 2028)
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Poster
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Biological Science
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College of Arts and Sciences
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Life Science