A team of academics from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) and the University of Brasília (UnB) develops genetically modified (GM) microalgae with insecticidal action. The transgenic organism combats the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is the vector of diseases such as dengue, zika virus, chikungunya fever and yellow fever.
According to Larissa Queiroz, from UFC Biotechnology, the objective is to make the microalgae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii species) “excrete a protein that is toxic to the mosquito larvae, which would end up dying. And there would be no risk to humans or animals if they consumed this water.”
Originally from freshwater, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was chosen because its genome has already been sequenced and has high resistance, surviving even in a saline environment. The team hopes to complete the genetic transformation phase of the microalgae with the genes of interest by next October.
UFC has already signed a partnership with the University of Minho, in Portugal, to expand the study of microalgae. The process intended with Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has already been tested previously in bacteria, yeast and plant cells.
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