-
Neil I Morrison,
Gregory S Simmons,
Guoliang Fu, Sinead O'Connell,
Adam S Walker,
Tarig Dafa'alla,
Michelle Walters,
John Claus,
Guolei Tang,
Li Jin,
Thea Marubbi,
Matthew J Epton,
Claire L Harris,
Robert T Staten,
Ernest Miller,
Thomas A Miller,
Luke Alphey
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmentally friendly method of pest control in which insects are mass-produced, irradiated and released to mate with wild counterparts. SIT has been used to control major pest insects including the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella Saunders), a global pest of cotton. Transgenic technology has the potential to overcome disadvantages associated with the SIT, such as the damaging effects of radiation on released insects. A method called RIDL (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal) is designed to circumvent the need to irradiate insects before release. Premature death of insects' progeny can be engineered to provide an equivalent to sterilisation. Moreover, this trait can be suppressed by the provision of a dietary antidote. In the pink bollworm, we generated transformed strains using different DNA constructs, which showed moderate-to-100% engineered mortality. In permissive conditions, this effect was largely suppressed. Survival data on cotton in field cages indicated that field conditions increase the lethal effect. One strain, called OX3402C, showed highly penetrant and highly repressible lethality, and was tested on host plants where its larvae caused minimal damage before death. These results highlight a potentially valuable insecticide-free tool against pink bollworm, and indicate its potential for development in other lepidopteran pests.
PLoS ONE 01/2012; 7(12):e50922. · 4.09 Impact Factor
-
Gregory S Simmons,
Andrew R McKemey,
Neil I Morrison, Sinead O'Connell,
Bruce E Tabashnik,
John Claus,
Guoliang Fu,
Guolei Tang,
Mickey Sledge,
Adam S Walker,
Caroline E Phillips,
Ernie D Miller,
Robert I Rose,
Robert T Staten,
Christl A Donnelly,
Luke Alphey
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Pest insects harm crops, livestock and human health, either directly or by acting as vectors of disease. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)--mass-release of sterile insects to mate with, and thereby control, their wild counterparts--has been used successfully for decades to control several pest species, including pink bollworm, a lepidopteran pest of cotton. Although it has been suggested that genetic engineering of pest insects provides potential improvements, there is uncertainty regarding its impact on their field performance. Discrimination between released and wild moths caught in monitoring traps is essential for estimating wild population levels. To address concerns about the reliability of current marking methods, we developed a genetically engineered strain of pink bollworm with a heritable fluorescent marker, to improve discrimination of sterile from wild moths. Here, we report the results of field trials showing that this engineered strain performed well under field conditions. Our data show that attributes critical to SIT in the field--ability to find a mate and to initiate copulation, as well as dispersal and persistence in the release area--were comparable between the genetically engineered strain and a standard strain. To our knowledge, these represent the first open-field experiments with a genetically engineered insect. The results described here provide encouragement for the genetic control of insect pests.
PLoS ONE 01/2011; 6(9):e24110. · 4.09 Impact Factor
-
[show abstract]
[hide abstract]
ABSTRACT: Suppression or elimination of vector populations is a tried and tested method for reducing vector-borne disease, and a key component of integrated control programs. Genetic methods have the potential to provide new and improved methods for vector control. The required genetic technology is simpler than that required for strategies based on population replacement and is likely to be available earlier. In particular, genetic methods that enhance the Sterile Insect Technique (e.g., RIDL) are already available for some species.
Advances in experimental medicine and biology 02/2008; 627:93-103. · 1.09 Impact Factor
