Close-up studies of parasite-mosquito interaction next step in malaria fight

To combat malaria, knowledge of the parasite that causes the disease is crucial. Oliver Billker has developed genetic tools to study the parasite's genes and is now taking the next step towards understanding the important interaction with mosquitoes.

Malaria is caused by a parasite that is spread by mosquitoes, affecting millions of people every year and resulting in many deaths, especially among young children. Much research is underway to develop new medicines and vaccines that are more effective than those currently available.

“To do that, we need a really good understanding of the parasite and its biology, and my lab is taking on the challenge of generating this understanding at increasing scale,” says Oliver Billker.

He has developed genetic tools to study the approximately 5000 genes of the malaria parasite in an efficient way. This makes it possible to systematically map the functions of genes in different biological processes during the different phases of a parasite's life cycle.

Interested in the complexity of the interplay

In the laboratory, Oliver Billker studies a rodent model of the malaria parasite. Like the parasites that infect humans, they communicate with tissues of the mosquito to obtain nutrients and avoid an immune response.

“It’s the complexity of the interplay between the parasite, the host and the mosquito that I have always found very interesting,” he says.

The research results reveal important aspects of the biology of the parasite, but also create valuable data resources for other researchers to build on.

Collaborates with insect researchers

In his future work, Oliver Billker will collaborate with insect researchers to delve deeper into the interaction between parasite and mosquito. What affects a mosquito's ability to transmit malaria parasites and what aspects of the parasite's biology determine which mosquito species can transmit malaria?

“The life cycle stages that we are now interested in have two copies of each gene. We have just worked out a way to disrupt not just one but both copies. This opens up new ways to find out what these genes do,” says Oliver Billker.