Engineered female-specific lethality for control of pest Lepidoptera

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Entomology
• Pest Management

Background:

• The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a crucial pest control method but faces challenges in Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies).
• Current SIT methods often involve radiation sterilization, which can have deleterious effects on insects.
• Producing male-only insects for release, which enhances SIT efficacy, is difficult in moths compared to some other insect groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel genetic system for producing male-only moths for SIT applications.
• To replace radiation sterilization with a more efficient and less harmful method.
• To engineer inherited female-specific lethality in pest moths.

Main Methods:

• Sequenced and characterized the doublesex (dsx) gene in the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella).
• Utilized sex-alternate splicing of the dsx gene to create a conditional lethal genetic sexing system.
• Applied this system to two key pest species: the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) and the pink bollworm.

Main Results:

• Successfully developed a synthetic genetic system enabling male-only moth production.
• The system incorporates inherited female-specific lethality, eliminating the need for radiation.
• Demonstrated the system's functionality in both diamondback moth and pink bollworm.

Conclusions:

• The developed genetic sexing system offers a promising alternative to traditional SIT methods in Lepidoptera.
• This innovation can enhance existing pink bollworm SIT programs.
• It has the potential to broaden the application of SIT to other moth species and orders.