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A transgene-based, embryo-specific lethality system for insect pest management

Nature Biotechnology volume 21, pages 64–70 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Biological approaches to insect pest management offer alternatives to pesticidal control. In area-wide control programs that cover entire regions, the sterile insect technique (SIT) can be used to successfully suppress economically important pest species by the mass release of sterilized pest organisms. However, conventional sterilization by ionizing radiation reduces insect fitness, which can result in reduced competitiveness of the sterilized insects. Here we report a transgene-based, dominant embryonic lethality system that allows for generation of large quantities of competitive but sterile insects without the need of irradiation. The system involves the ectopic expression of a hyperactive pro-apoptotic gene that causes embryo-specific lethality when driven by the tetracycline-controlled transactivator (tTA) under the regulation of a cellularization gene enhancer-promoter. We have successfully tested this system in Drosophila melanogaster. The embryonic lethality can be suppressed maternally, which will allow it to be combined with transgenic female-specific lethality systems to raise only vigorous but sterile males.

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Figure 1: Schematic representation of nullo-tTA and sryα-tTA fusion constructs, including functional analysis.
Figure 2: Reversibility of strain EL#42 phenotype.
Figure 3: Maternal suppression of strain EL#42 sterility by the tTA inhibitors doxycycline (light gray) and tetracycline (black).
Figure 4: Embryonic lethality caused by increased cell death in embryos from wild-type virgins mated with EL#42 males.
Figure 5: Competitiveness of EL#42 males.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to Brigitte Jaunich for technical assistance and express our thanks to A. Bergmann, H. Bujard, U. Häcker, C.F. Lehner, S. Nystedt, P. Rørth, P. Sung, and E. Wieschaus for providing plasmids. We thank C.F. Lehner and the members of the Lehrstuhl Genetik for support, encouragement, and discussions during the course of our work, which is supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation. C.H. is a fellow of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie, partially supported by the BMBF, and E.A.W. acknowledges support from the EMBO Young Investigator Programme.

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  1. Lehrstuhl für Genetik, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstrasse 30 NWI, Bayreuth, 95447, Germany

    Carsten Horn & Ernst A. Wimmer

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  1. Carsten Horn
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Correspondence to Ernst A. Wimmer.

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Horn, C., Wimmer, E. A transgene-based, embryo-specific lethality system for insect pest management. Nat Biotechnol 21, 64–70 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt769

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