Managing insecticide resistance by mass release of engineered insects

J Econ Entomol. 2007 Oct;100(5):1642-9. doi: 10.1603/0022-0493(2007)100[1642:mirbmr]2.0.co;2.

Abstract

Transgenic crops producing insecticidal toxins are now widely used to control insect pests. The benefits of this method would be lost if resistance to the toxins spread to a significant proportion of the pest population. The primary resistance management method, mandatory in the United States, is the high-dose/ refuge strategy, requiring toxin-free crops as refuges near the insecticidal crops, and the use of toxin doses sufficiently high to kill insects heterozygous for a resistance allele, thereby rendering resistance functionally recessive. We propose that mass-release of harmless susceptible (toxin-sensitive) insects could substantially delay or even reverse the spread of resistance. Mass-release of such insects is an integral part of release of insects carrying a dominant lethal (RIDL), a method of pest control related to the sterile insect technique. We show by mathematical modeling that specific RIDL strategies could form an effective component of a resistance management strategy for plant-incorporated protectants and other toxins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Genetically Modified
  • Bacillus thuringiensis
  • Bacterial Toxins / genetics
  • Bacterial Toxins / metabolism
  • Bacterial Toxins / pharmacology
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Insecta / drug effects*
  • Insecta / genetics
  • Insecticide Resistance*
  • Male
  • Models, Biological
  • Pest Control, Biological / methods*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Toxins