Open AccessTargeted Mutagenesis in the Malaria Mosquito Using TALE Nucleases
Author(s) -
Andrea L. Smidler,
Olivier Terenzi,
Julien Soichot,
Elena A. Levashina,
Eric Marois
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0074511
Subject(s) - transcription activator like effector nuclease , anopheles gambiae , biology , effector , genetics , vector (molecular biology) , rna interference , genome editing , gene targeting , plasmodium berghei , mutant , gene , mutagenesis , transgene , computational biology , crispr , malaria , rna , microbiology and biotechnology , recombinant dna , immunology
Anopheles gambiae , the main mosquito vector of human malaria, is a challenging organism to manipulate genetically. As a consequence, reverse genetics studies in this disease vector have been largely limited to RNA interference experiments. Here, we report the targeted disruption of the immunity gene TEP1 using transgenic expression of Transcription-Activator Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), and the isolation of several TEP1 mutant A. gambiae lines. These mutations inhibited protein production and rendered TEP1 mutants hypersusceptible to Plasmodium berghei . The TALEN technology opens up new avenues for genetic analysis in this disease vector and may offer novel biotechnology-based approaches for malaria control.