Genetic control methods for agricultural insect pests of global importance

Bolton, Michael (2017) Genetic control methods for agricultural insect pests of global importance. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Insect pests of agricultural significance pose substantial risks for food security in an
ever-growing global population. Conventional control measures used against these
pests have had varying degrees of success and examples of pesticide resistance and offtarget
effects of pesticides highlight the urgent need for the development of new,
environmentally benign control methods. Deployment of ‘self-limiting’ insects is a
species-specific approach that can be used to combat many species, including two
major agricultural insect pests, the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata, and the Diamondback
moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella. In this thesis, I used transgenic ‘self-limiting’ strains of
medfly and DBM to stress-test self-limiting technology in laboratory and field scenarios.
In Chapter 2, I tested the effect of larval diet composition on the penetrance of a
female-specific self-limiting system in the OX3864A strain of medfly under simulated
control conditions. In Chapter 3 I investigated the potential for resistance to selflimiting
systems, using artificial selection for survival under a low dose of the transgene
antidote, in the OX3864A medfly strain. In Chapter 4 I used the OX4319L self-limiting
strain of DBM and showed that its responses to an artificial pheromone source in wind
tunnel flight trials were comparable to the wild type. I also described the field
dispersal characteristics of a long-term, laboratory-reared wildtype DBM strain in a
mark-release-recapture trial. In Chapter 5 I demonstrated that the OX4319L DBM strain
had comparable field longevity, but reduced mating competitiveness, in comparison to
a wild-caught DBM strain. Finally, in Chapter 6, I discuss the broader context and
address the practicalities, regulatory controls and implications of transgenic
technologies for insect pest control under open field conditions.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
Depositing User:	Jackie Webb
Date Deposited:	28 Jun 2017 11:53
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2020 00:38
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/63943
DOI:

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