All We Need Is Prawns

Good news for anti-schisto prospects: recent studies suggest that a major cause of schistosomiasis is the destruction of habitat for migratory river prawns, formerly a major predator on schisto vector snails. Bring back the prawns! Relevant publications are listed here. According to Swartz et al. (J Exp Biol 218) these prawns are especially good at eating infected snails. Molecular molluscicides may still be useful, particularly in central Africa where the prawns do not naturally occur. The current project will enter a new phase focused on tracking RNA before and after ingestion by snails. Information about methods and results, including synthetic DNA sequences used for dsRNA expression, will be shared with any interested party. Contact the PI: morgan.goulding(at)gsw.edu