Mathematical Ecology Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom.
J Theor Biol. 2011 Feb 7;270(1):42-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.11.016. Epub 2010 Nov 12.
The sterile insect technique is an area-wide pest control method that reduces pest populations by releasing mass-reared sterile insects which compete for mates with wild insects. Modern molecular tools have created possibilities for improving and extending the sterile insect technique. As with any new insect control method, questions arise about potential resistance. Genetic RIDL(®)(1) (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal) technology is a proposed modification of the technique, releasing insects that are homozygous for a repressible dominant lethal genetic construct rather than being sterilized by irradiation. Hypothetical resistance to the lethal mechanism is a potential threat to RIDL strategies' effectiveness. Using population genetic and population dynamic models, we assess the circumstances under which monogenic biochemically based resistance could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of releases for population control. We assume that released insects would be homozygous susceptible to the lethal genetic construct and therefore releases would have a built-in element of resistance dilution. We find that this effect could prevent or limit the spread of resistance to RIDL constructs; the outcomes are subject to competing selective forces deriving from the fitness properties of resistance and the release ratio. Resistance that is spreading and capable of having a significant detrimental impact on population reduction is identifiable, signaling in advance a need for mitigating action.
不育昆虫技术是一种区域范围的害虫控制方法，通过释放大量饲养的不育昆虫与野生昆虫竞争配偶来减少害虫种群。现代分子工具为改进和扩展不育昆虫技术创造了可能性。与任何新的昆虫控制方法一样，人们对潜在的抗药性提出了疑问。遗传 RIDL（释放携带显性致死基因的昆虫）技术是对该技术的一种改进，释放的昆虫是纯合的可抑制显性致死遗传构建体，而不是通过辐射使其绝育。对致死机制的假设抗性是 RIDL 策略有效性的潜在威胁。我们使用群体遗传学和群体动态模型来评估单基因生化抗性在何种情况下可能对种群控制释放的有效性产生重大影响。我们假设释放的昆虫对致死遗传构建体是纯合易感的，因此释放将具有内置的抗性稀释元素。我们发现，这种效应可以防止或限制对 RIDL 构建体的抗性传播；结果取决于来自抗性和释放比例的适应性特征的竞争选择力。正在传播并且能够对种群减少产生重大不利影响的抗性是可识别的，提前发出需要采取缓解行动的信号。
