Pest reduction with female killers and sterile males
Pest reduction with female killers and sterile males
Tags: Fruit fly, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Sterile insect technique (SIT)L. Mertz, Good Fruit Grower, 2021.
New ways to fight spotted wing drosophila are in the works, thanks to new genetic engineering tools. These transgenic methods introduce new reproduction-hampering genes into male SWD, so that when they mate with females, the females either don’t have any young, or their female young die early in their development. The approach falls under the umbrella of sterile insect technique (SIT), which has traditionally been done with radiation to sterilize males that are then released to reduce pest reproduction. “SITs are thought of as green technologies, because they are species-specific, they have the advantage that the control agent is the insect itself, and they reduce the dependence on insecticides,” said Max Scott, a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University who is developing one of these approaches. He and his research group have incorporated a female-killing gene into male SWD. In a different approach, the San Diego company Agragene is advancing technology first developed by University of California, San Diego researchers. Here, the project makes use of an advanced gene-editing tool — called CRISPR — to add genes that both kill females and sterilize males. “We really do believe that our technology will bring a sea change to what’s going on out there,” said Gordon Alton, president and CEO of Agragene Inc. If all goes well, he anticipates growers will have access to the technology within two to three years
