In some parts of the world a mosquito bite can lead to more than just a pesky itch; it can lead to any number of fatal diseases.

Alex Raikhel, an MSU professor of entomology and genetics, was the lead researcher in discovering and creating the world’s first transgenic - or genetically altered mosquito.

The aim of the research is to limit the ability of a mosquito to transmit a disease by boosting the insect’s immune system.

“Mosquitos need the blood (from organisms like humans and other vertebrates) because they use it as food and nourishment for their eggs,” Raikhel said.

“Basically the technique makes the mosquitos’ immune system able to kill the pathogen within the ingested blood.”

A pathogen, which is a specific cause of a disease, can be either a bacteria or a virus. Raikhel’s research led him to attach an organism called defensin to the pathogens inside mosquitos to kill the diseases before they are transmitted to other living organisms, therefore, creating the world’s first genetically altered mosquito.

“One of the approaches that we are trying is genetic manipulation because we were failing in other fields,” Raikhel said.

“We wanted to manipulate and control the organism either by identifying the gene that immunizes pathogens or by the genetic control of them.”

One of the diseases Raikhel is attempting to bring under control is malaria.

Nearly 500 million people suffer from acute malaria each year and 40 percent of the world is at risk of malaria. More than one million people die as a result of this disease every year, mainly children under five, according to the World Health Organization.

“Diseases like this are able to flourish because mosquitos became resistant to most pesticides and the parasites they convey are resistant to most drugs,” Raikhel said.

“The resurgence of mosquito born diseases, along with social conditions such as poor housing and health care, can lead to disease epidemics.”

Raikhel and his assistants have been working on this project since the fall of 1999.

Geoff Attardo, an MSU genetics doctoral student, said his work with Raikhel has given him a fantastic perspective of what it takes to be a good scientist.

“He’s pretty much at the head of the field in terms of mosquitos and their molecular biology,” Attardo said. “His lab is probably one of the best in the country, if not the best, for mosquito biology research.”

Ned Walker, MSU associate professor of entomology, works in the same scientific field as Raikhel, except instead of the molecular level, his concentration is on the ecological level.

“Right now this research is all theoretical,” Walker said. “But the fact that he’s elevated his research to the anti-transmittant stage in this short amount of time is quite remarkable.

“He’s the only one in the world who has gotten this far.”

Walker said he is really interested in what the research can do for the issue of public heath worldwide.

“What Professor Raikhel is doing has potential applications in the real world, not just the laboratory,” he said.

But for now, Raikhel’s research will remain in the laboratory.

“A lot of my personal research is to understand how this process is regulated,” he said. “I have to think about the biology without burdening myself with what could come as an application of my research in the future.

“We’ll see what comes out of it.”