Field Performance of a Genetically Engineered Strain of Pink Bollworm
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
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.
Date Issued
2011-09-13
Date Acceptance
2011-07-31
Citation
PLOS One, 2011, 6 (9)
ISSN
1932-6203
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Journal / Book Title
PLOS One
Volume
6
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
Public Domain. This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000295321800017&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
G0600719B
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES
MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT-FLY
SEXING STRAINS
INSECT
LEPIDOPTERA
FITNESS
DOMINANT
GELECHIIDAE
MOSQUITOS
VECTORS
SYSTEMS
Animals
Animals, Genetically Modified
Female
Genetic Engineering
Humans
Infertility
Logistic Models
Luminescent Proteins
Male
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Moths
Pest Control, Biological
Reproducibility of Results
Sexual Behavior, Animal
General Science & Technology
MD Multidisciplinary
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN e24110