Student Team Wins Gold
November 15, 2019
Leadership, Awards & Events, Natural Sciences, Press Releases
A team of undergraduate student researchers at BGU, who competed in the 2019 iGEM competition, have developed an innovative targeted biological approach that kills mosquito larvae, using natural bacteria delivered by the male mosquito while mating.
BGU student team wins gold for “FlyGEM”
The student team decided to focus on the worldwide problem of mosquitoes which spread many diseases including the deadly Zika virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mosquitoes infect over 300 million people a year with malaria-causing 800,000 casualties annually.
The BGU team, “FlyGEM,” was just awarded a gold medal for their “Trojan Mosquito” innovation in the prestigious annual international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) event, a worldwide synthetic biology team competition held this year in Boston, from Oct. 31 – November 4.
The students found in previous research that bacteria in the mosquito’s gut called BTI (Bacillus Thuringiensis Israelensis) produces a toxin that only kills mosquito larvae. The BTI bacteria and toxin have been used commercially for the past 30 years. Since BTI is diluted in large water sources and isn’t always effectively consumed by mosquitos, it decreases but doesn’t eradicate the pests.
“Our targeted delivery approach employs a natural bacterium engineered to use the BTI toxin in the gut microbiome of the male mosquito,” says Prof. Lital Alfonta, team advisor and member of the BGU Department of Life Sciences. “With this approach, the adult female mosquito infects its own larvae in a targeted manner.”
The researchers tweaked the male mosquito’s gut microbiome to express BTI and released the males to mate with females, who in turn transferred the bacteria onto their eggs. In the BGU experiment, when the larvae were born, most of them died immediately. The team also discovered that those that survived initially, fed on the dead, infected larvae and then died themselves.
“While we focused on a single type of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, we have the ability to target other disease-carrying mosquitoes,” says Prof. Alfonta. “Once we conduct a pilot project in urban areas to test out our approach, there is a good chance that this is feasible as a successful biological pest control solution.”
This is a targeted, innovative method that could replace the current methods of global mosquito control,” says student team leader Mey-Tal Banar.
The team co-advisor and instructors include: Dr. Ramon Birnbaum and Ph.D. students Eden Ozer, Mor Pasi, and Dror Aizik. Team consultants were Prof. Uri Abdu and Prof. (Emer.) Arieh Zaritsky of the BGU Department of Life Sciences and Dr. Ido Tzurim and Prof. Eitan Ben-Dov from Achva College.
The Israel Ministry of Science and Technology provided support for the team.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
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