scholarly journals Advances and Challenges of Using the Sterile Insect Technique for the Management of Pest Lepidoptera

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 371 ◽  
Author(s):  
František Marec ◽  
Marc J. B. Vreysen
Keyword(s):  
Ionizing Radiation ◽  
High Resistance ◽  
Sterile Insect Technique ◽  
Field Performance ◽  
Regular Component ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Genetic Sexing ◽  
Lepidopteran Pests ◽  
New Research

Over the past 30 years, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has become a regular component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs against several major agricultural pests and vectors of severe diseases. The SIT-based programs have been especially successful against dipteran pests. However, the SIT applicability for controlling lepidopteran pests has been challenging, mainly due to their high resistance to the ionizing radiation that is used to induce sterility. Nevertheless, the results of extensive research and currently operating SIT programs show that most problems with the implementation of SIT against pest Lepidoptera have been successfully resolved. Here, we summarize the cytogenetic peculiarities of Lepidoptera that should be considered in the development and application of SIT for a particular pest species. We also discuss the high resistance of Lepidoptera to ionizing radiation, and present the principle of derived technology based on inherited sterility (IS). Furthermore, we present successful SIT/IS applications against five major lepidopteran pests, and summarize the results of research on the quality control of reared and released insects, which is of great importance for their field performance. In the light of new research findings, we also discuss options for the development of genetic sexing strains, which is a challenge to further improve the applicability of SIT/IS against selected lepidopteran pests.

scholarly journals A Novel Genetic Sexing Strain of Anastrepha Ludens for Cost-Effective Sterile Insect Technique Applications: Improved Genetic Stability and Rearing Efficiency

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 499
Author(s):  
Edwin Ramírez-Santos ◽  
Pedro Rendon ◽  
Georgia Gouvi ◽  
Antigone Zacharopoulou ◽  
Kostas Bourtzis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Stability ◽  
Sterile Insect Technique ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Anastrepha Ludens ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Genetic Sexing ◽  
Genetic Sexing Strain

Anastrepha ludens (Loew) is one of the most destructive insect pests damaging several fruits of economic importance. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is used under an area-wide integrated pest management approach, to suppress these pest populations. Mass rearing facilities were initially established to produce sterile males of bi-sexual strains in support of SIT. The first genetic sexing strain (GSS) for A. ludens, Tapachula-7, based on pupal color dimorphism, was a key development since the release of males-only significantly increases the SIT efficiency. In this study, we document the development of a novel pupal color-based GSS. Twelve radiation-induced translocation lines were assessed as potential GSS in terms of recombination rates and rearing efficiency at a small scale. The best one, GUA10, was cytogenetically characterized: it was shown to carry a single translocation between the Y chromosome and chromosome 2, which is known to carry the black pupae marker. This GSS was further evaluated at medium and large scales regarding its genetic stability, productivity and quality versus Tapachula-7. GUA10 presented better genetic stability, fecundity, fertility, production efficiency, flying ability, and male mating, clear indicators that GUA10 GSS can significantly improve the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of SIT applications against this pest species.

scholarly journals Lessons from Drosophila: Engineering Genetic Sexing Strains with Temperature-Sensitive Lethality for Sterile Insect Technique Applications

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 243
Author(s):  
Thu N. M. Nguyen ◽  
Amanda Choo ◽  
Simon W. Baxter
Keyword(s):  
Rna Polymerase Ii ◽  
Sterile Insect Technique ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Random Mutagenesis ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Genetic Sexing ◽  
Genetic Sexing Strains

A major obstacle of sterile insect technique (SIT) programs is the availability of robust sex-separation systems for conditional removal of females. Sterilized male-only releases improve SIT efficiency and cost-effectiveness for agricultural pests, whereas it is critical to remove female disease-vector pests prior to release as they maintain the capacity to transmit disease. Some of the most successful Genetic Sexing Strains (GSS) reared and released for SIT control were developed for Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis capitata, and carry a temperature sensitive lethal (tsl) mutation that eliminates female but not male embryos when heat treated. The Medfly tsl mutation was generated by random mutagenesis and the genetic mechanism causing this valuable heat sensitive phenotype remains unknown. Conditional temperature sensitive lethal mutations have also been developed using random mutagenesis in the insect model, Drosophila melanogaster, and were used for some of the founding genetic research published in the fields of neuro- and developmental biology. Here we review mutations in select D. melanogaster genes shibire, Notch, RNA polymerase II 215kDa, pale, transformer-2, Dsor1 and CK2α that cause temperature sensitive phenotypes. Precise introduction of orthologous point mutations in pest insect species with CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology holds potential to establish GSSs with embryonic lethality to improve and advance SIT pest control.

scholarly journals Mitogenomic analysis of diversity of key whitefly pests in Kenya and its implication to their sustainable management

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fathiya M. Khamis ◽  
Fidelis L. O. Ombura ◽  
Inusa J. Ajene ◽  
Komivi S. Akutse ◽  
Sevgan Subramanian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Spatial Models ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Plant Viruses ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Aleyrodes Proletella ◽  
Aleurodicus Dispersus

AbstractWhiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are devastating agricultural pests of economic importance vectoring pathogenic plant viruses. Knowledge on their diversity and distribution in Kenya is scanty, limiting development of effective sustainable management strategies. The present study is aimed at identifying whitefly pest species present in Kenya across different agroecological zones and establish predictive models for the most abundant species in Africa. Whiteflies were sampled in Kenya from key crops known to be severely infested and identified using 16S rRNA markers and complete mitochondrial genomes. Four whitefly species were identified: Aleyrodes proletella, Aleurodicus dispersus, Bemisia afer and Trialeurodesvaporariorum, the latter being the most dominant species across all the agroecology. The assembly of complete mitogenomes and comparative analysis of all 13 protein coding genes confirmed the identities of the four species. Furthermore, prediction spatial models indicated high climatic suitability of T. vaporariorum in Africa, Europe, Central America, parts of Southern America, parts of Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Consequently, our findings provide information to guide biosecurity agencies on protocols to be adopted for precise identification of pest whitefly species in Kenya to serve as an early warning tool against T. vaporariorum invasion into unaffected areas and guide appropriate decision-making on their management.

scholarly journals Insect fauna of pests and their natural enemies inhabiting sorghum-panicles in Egypt

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hosam M. K. H. El-Gepaly
Keyword(s):  
Natural Enemies ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Insect Pest ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Parasitoid Species ◽  
Insect Fauna ◽  
Cryptoblabes Gnidiella ◽  
Arthropod Species ◽  
Lepidopteran Pests ◽  
Major Pest

AbstractSorghum panicles offer a very rich microenvironment for many insect pest species and their natural enemies. Thirty arthropod species belonging to 28 families, pertaining to 9 orders were obtained from sorghum panicles planted in Sohag Governorate, Egypt, during the 3 successive seasons of 2016–2018. Out of these species were 14 pests, 16 predators, and 3 parasitoids. Lepidopteran and hemipteran pests were the most dominant species-infested sorghum-panicles during the mature stages of the panicles. Three microlepidopteran pests, the noctuid, Eublemma (Autoba) gayneri (Roth.); the pyralid, Cryptoblabes gnidiella Millière, and the cosmopterigid, Pyroderces simplex Walsingham, were recorded as major pest species infesting sorghum panicles in Sohag Governorate. The dipteran parasitoid species, Nemorilla floralis (Fallen) (Tachinidae) emerged from the pupae of the E. gayneri and C. gnidiella, while the hymenopteran parasitoid, Brachymeria aegyptiaca (Chalcididae) was obtained from the pupae of all the studied microlepidopteran pests. Spiders, coccinellids, and Orius spp. were the dominant predators collected form panicles. Post-harvest, larvae, and pupae of lepidopteran pests, especially P. simplex recorded (147, 96, and 79 larvae) and (47, 30, and 73 pupae)/10 panicles in 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons, respectively.

scholarly journals Genetic analysis of medfly populations in an area of sterile insect technique applications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén Sancho ◽  
Ana Guillem-Amat ◽  
Elena López-Errasquín ◽  
Lucas Sánchez ◽  
Félix Ortego ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Markers ◽  
Sterile Insect Technique ◽  
Ceratitis Capitata ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Genetic Sexing ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Genetic Sexing Strains

AbstractThe sterile insect technique (SIT) is widely used in integrated pest management programs for the control of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata. The genetic interactions between the released individuals from the genetic sexing strains (GSS), used for SIT applications worldwide, and wild individuals have not been studied. Under the hypothesis that a number of Vienna GSS individuals released to the field might not be completely sterile and may produce viable offspring, we have analyzed medfly Spanish field populations to evaluate the presence of Vienna strain genetic markers. To this goal, we have used contrasted nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers, and two novel sets of nuclear polymorphisms with the potential to be markers to discriminate between Vienna and wild individuals. Nuclear Vienna markers located on the 5th chromosome of Vienna males have been found in 2.2% (19 from 875) of the Spanish wild medfly females captured at the area where SIT is applied. In addition, a female-inherited mitochondrial Vienna marker has been found in two from the 19 females showing nuclear Vienna markers. The detection of several of these markers in single individuals represents evidence of the introgression of Vienna strain into natural populations. However, alternative explanations as their presence at low frequency in wild populations in the studied areas cannot be fully discarded. The undesired release of non-fully sterile irradiated GSS individuals into the field and their interactions with wild flies, and the potential environmental implications should be taken into account in the application of the SIT.

scholarly journals Capturing the transcription factor interactome in response to sub-lethal insecticide exposure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria A Ingham ◽  
Sara Elg ◽  
Sanjay C Nagi ◽  
Frank Dondelinger
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Lethal Dose ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Dynamic Bayesian Networks ◽  
Disease Vectors ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Insecticide Exposure

AbstractThe increasing levels of pesticide resistance in agricultural pests and disease vectors represents a threat to both food security and global health. As insecticide resistance intensity strengthens and spreads, the likelihood of a pest encountering a sub-lethal dose of pesticide dramatically increases. Here, we apply dynamic Bayesian networks to a transcriptome time-course generated using sub-lethal pyrethroid exposure on a highly resistant Anopheles coluzzii population. The model accounts for circadian rhythm and ageing effects allowing high confidence identification of transcription factors with key roles in pesticide response. The associations generated by this model show high concordance with lab-based validation and identifies 44 transcription factors regulating insecticide-responsive transcripts. We identify six key regulators, with each displaying differing enrichment terms, demonstrating the complexity of pesticide response. The considerable overlap of resistance mechanisms in agricultural pests and disease vectors strongly suggests that these findings are relevant in a wide variety of pest species.

New Research in Ionizing Radiation and Nanoparticles: The ARGENT Project

2016 ◽  
pp. 379-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Bolsa Ferruz ◽  
V. Ivošev ◽  
K. Haume ◽  
L. Ellis-Gibbings ◽  
A. Traore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ionizing Radiation ◽  
New Research

Selfish DNA as a method of pest control

1994 ◽  
Vol 344 (1309) ◽  
pp. 313-324 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Load ◽  
Single Copy ◽  
Mendelian Inheritance ◽  
Host Population ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Uniparental Inheritance ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Selfish Dna ◽  
Host Fitness

The inheritance of most genes is tightly controlled, governed by the rules of mendelian inheritance if nuclear or uniparental inheritance if cytoplasmic. A few notable genes and cytoplasmic genomes have escaped this regulation. Such genes may spread by increasing their own rate of transmission despite reducing host fitness and may be regarded as ‘selfish’. Their population genetics are described and it appears they may impose a significant genetic load on the host population. Modern molecular techniques may enable similar loads to be imposed on pest species either by transferring selfish genes between species, or by linking deleterious genes to a selfish locus. Alternatively, ‘modifier’ genes that eliminate the virulent, or disease vectorial capacity, of the pest population may be introduced by linkage to a selfish locus. Selfish elements present in multiple copies may be preferable to single-copy elements as the former are capable of a larger reduction in host fitness. The practical application of these agents depends on five factors: (i) the rate of ‘reversion’ to a non-selfish form; (ii) the evolution of host repressor systems; (iii) their effect on host fitness, which determines their rate of invasion; (iv) the mechanism regulating host population size in the field; and (v) their ease of manipulation in the laboratory. The first two factors are the most uncertain in most systems, but should be amenable to experimental analysis. It is proposed that the development of such techniques may result in powerful new methods of population control which may be applied to both agricultural pests and disease vectors.

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