Sidewalk yeast species could lead to eco-friendly mosquito traps

An orange-colored yeast species isolated from a Baltimore sidewalk several years ago could be the basis of eco-friendly mosquito traps that reduce malaria transmission, according to a new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Malaria remains one of the world's leading causes of death, with more 600,000 fatalities in 2024, according to the World Health Organization. Despite advances in vaccines and surveillance strategies, malaria transmission remains difficult to control. The parasites that cause the disease frequently develop resistance to antimalarial drugs. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes have become increasingly resistant to insecticides. The two malaria vaccines in use are only modestly effective. Finally, mosquito traps are still considered an emerging technology.

The McMeniman Lab studies disease-transmitting mosquitoes and the sensory cues that influence their behavior. The Casadevall Lab studies fungi and other microbes. For this project, the two teams collaborated to investigate the potential mosquito-attraction capabilities of various common yeast species.

"Scent and Adhesion Drive Insect Dispersal of Environmental Yeast" was co-authored by Diego Giraldo, Daniel Smith, Sébastien Ortiz, Stephanie Rankin-Turner, Mary Gebhardt, Lusajo Mwakibete, Ziyang Chen, Reneé Ali, Douglas Norris, Sean Zhang, Arturo Casadevall and Conor McMeniman.

Support for the research was provided in part by the inaugural MMI Noetic Award created by Lisa Walborn from the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U19AI089680); and by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

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Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

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