Pest control and resistance management through release of insects carrying a male-selecting transgene

• DOI: 10.1186/s12915-015-0161-1
• Publication Date: 2015-07-08T12:14:51Z
• Authors: Tim Harvey-Samuel; Neil I. Morrison; Adam S. Walker; Thea Marubbi; Ju Yao; Hilda L. Collins; Kevin Gorman; T. G. Emyr Davies; Nina Alphey; Simon Warner; Anthony M. Shelton; Luke Alphey
• Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis; Cry1Ac; Pink bollworm; Pesticide resistance

Development and evaluation of new insect pest management tools is critical for overcoming over-reliance upon, growing resistance to, synthetic, biological plant-expressed insecticides. For transgenic crops expressing insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis ('Bt crops') emergence slowed by maintaining a proportion crop as non-Bt varieties, which produce insects unselected resistance. While this strategy has been largely successful, multiple cases Bt have now reported. One approach to use genetically engineered suppress populations their own species. Models suggest that released carrying male-selecting (MS) transgenes would be effective agents direct, species-specific preventing survival female progeny, simultaneously provide an alternative insecticide introgression susceptibility alleles into target populations. We developed MS strain diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, serious global crucifers. MS-strain larvae are reared normal with dietary tetracycline, but, when without tetracycline or on host plants, only males will survive adulthood. used in glasshouse-cages study effect male P. xylostella releases population size spread these populations.Introductions MS-engineered wild-type led rapid decline, then elimination. In separate experiments broccoli relatively low-level combination Cry1Ac (Bt broccoli) suppressed growth delayed Higher rates absence were also able populations, whereas either alone did not.These results support theoretical modeling, indicating can powerful suppressing effect, could effectively augment current strategies. conclude that, subject field confirmation, offer versatile control option against potentially other pests, may reduce reliance protect insecticide-based approaches, including crops.