Sustainable Mosquito Control

Although his day job is in finance, University of Newcastle Alumni Ghislain Ntignonawoe likes to describe himself as a ‘weekend scientist’. He is fascinated by microbiology, and it was through his ambassadorship with the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) where he met his friend Karl Anderson, who is currently researching antimicrobial resistance at North Dakota State.

“We’re always floating ideas around,” says Karl of his friendship with Ghislain. “Mosquitoes are a huge problem in Togo (where Ghislain is originally from) and here in Minnesota, so we’d been toying with the concept of an anti-mosquito microbiology project for a while. Then Ghislain started to see posts on Facebook about the Grand Challenge, and we thought we had better go for it.”

Today, the Sustainable Mosquito Control (SMC) project spans three continents: while Ghislain and Karl are based in Minnesota, US, Dr Victorien Dougnon (another of Ghislain and Karl’s ASM colleagues) is in Benin, Africa, and Evangeline Fox and Charlotte Brew are right here in Newcastle, where they are studying for their undergraduate degrees.

Central to SMC’s concept is the bacterial subspecies Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bt/Bti).  Bt/Bti naturally produces proteins which are toxic to mosquito larvae, but harmless to other plants and animals: for this reason, they are known as a biopesticide. Although Bt/Bti are commonly used in agriculture, a major limitation to their application is its price of production. “We wanted to develop solutions for communities in West Africa which might have fewer resources than those in bigger cities,” explains Ghislain.

The two friends had already been experimenting with wastewater and other media prior to the Grand Challenge, but after reading around and thinking about what materials might be readily available to their end users, they landed on a somewhat unusual notion. “Potato dextrose agar is already used to grow bacteria in labs: we figured cassava and yam might not be that nutritionally different to potato,” explains Karl.

And so, with the funds from the VC’s Grand Challenge, the team set about examining tuber waste as a potential growth media for Bt/Bti. Karl and Ghislain established a “mini” lab in their hometown and began to source rudimentary fermentation equipment to send to their collaborator, Victorien, in Benin. Evangeline and Charlotte started work on a literature review and were able to present the team’s ideas to the Grand Challenge committee in Callaghan.

More than a year later, the team have been highly successful in reaching their goals. “We’ve got further than we thought we would,” says Karl. “We’ve got some pretty decent recipes together and we have been able to test a bunch of consistencies here in Minnesota and on the ground in Benin.” They were anticipating an invitation to present their findings at the ASM annual meeting, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19.

The team have connected with a local not-for-profit group, RAB Togo, who have been working with school students in West Africa to foster entrepreneurial skills and generate an interest in biotechnology. “They are focusing on ways to scale the project up on the ground,” says Ghislain. SMC have also been in conversation with local government: “We need their approval to move forward, so we have been showcasing the value of the project and what it can do for the average citizen…which isn’t that hard, especially in terms of public health.”

Reflecting on his experience with the Grand Challenge, Karl undermines the importance of networking, and appreciates the opportunity the project has given him to develop his own links with communities and professionals across the globe. Ghislain encourages applicants to think outside of the box, and emphasises, “It’s challenging – but rewarding at the same time.”

The Sustainable Mosquito Control team consists of:

• Ghislain Ntignonawoe (Alumni)
• Karl Anderson (Community)
• Evangeline Fox (Student)
• Victorien Dougnon (Community)
• Charlotte Brew (Student)

Wondering where the 2019 winners are now? Ask them anything at the upcoming AMA.