Control of introduced species using Trojan sex chromosomes
Control of introduced species using Trojan sex chromosomes
Tags: Genetic biocontrol, Invasive species, Sex distorterS. Cotton and C. Wedekind, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 22:441-443. 2007.
To control introduced exotic species that have predominantly genetic, but environmentally reversible, sex determination (e.g. many species of fish), Gutierrez and Teem recently modeled the use of carriers of Trojan Y chromosomes – individuals who are phenotypically sex reversed from their genotype. Repeated introduction of YY females into wild populations should produce extreme male-biased sex ratios and eventual elimination of XX females, thus leading to population extinction. Analogous dynamics are expected in systems in which sex determination is influenced by one or a few major genes on autosomes.
