Malaria
as vector-borne disease remains important health concern with over 200
million cases globally. Novel antimalarial medicines and more effective
vaccines must be developed to eliminate and eradicate malaria. Appraisal
of preceding genome editing approaches confirmed the CRISPR/Cas
nuclease system as a novel proficient genome editing system and a tool
for species-specific diagnosis, and drug resistance researches for
Plasmodium species, and gene drive to control Anopheles population.
CRISPR/Cas technology, as a handy tool for genome editing can be
justified for the production of transgenic malaria parasites like
Plasmodium transgenic lines expressing Cas9, chimeric Plasmodium
transgenic lines, knockdown and knockout transgenic parasites, and
transgenic parasites expressing alternative alleles, and also mutant
strains of Anopheles such as only male mosquito populations, generation
of wingless mosquitoes, and creation of knock-out/ knock-in mutants.
Though, the incorporation of traditional methods and novel molecular
techniques could noticeably enhance the quality of results. The striking
development of a CRISPR/Cas-based diagnostic kit that can specifically
diagnose the Plasmodium species or drug resistance markers is highly
required in malaria settings with affordable cost and high-speed
detection. Furthermore, the advancement of genome modifications by
CRISPR/Cas technologies resolves contemporary restrictions to culturing,
maintaining, and analyzing these parasites, and the aptitude to
investigate parasite genome functions opens up new vistas in the better
understanding of pathogenesis.