Laboratory evaluation for a potential birth control diet for fruit fly sterilization insect technique (SIT)

Authors: Chang, Chiou

Submitted to: Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2017
Publication Date: 6/16/2017
Citation: Chang, C.L. 2017. Laboratory evaluation for a potential birth control diet for fruit fly sterilization insect technique (SIT). Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology.

Interpretive Summary: Tephritid fruit flies have been serious pests around the world. One of the most effective fruit fly control techniques is Sterilization Insect Technique(SIT). Irradiation has been used to sterilize male fruit flies before releasing to field to compete with the wild males for females to support fruit fly control. Our objective is to develop a sterilizing rearing diet that can keep insects sterile for a long period of time after feeding for 7 days before release to the field for SIT program. This can replace costly irradiation process.

Technical Abstract: A potential fruit fly steilizing diet was evaluated on fertility, mating, survival, and protein anaylsis for fruit fly species in Hawaii. Insects were continuously fed an agar diet with lufenuron(LFN) for an initial 7d after emergence and then switched to a control diet to simulate the actual field condition. The influence on egg hatch was dose dependent. With dose of 2-4 mg/g in the diet, egg hatch from LFN-fed was almost 100% suppressed for 24 experimental days if adults of C.capitata, B.dorsalis, and B.latifrons continued to feed on LFN diet. B.cucurbitae was not affected by LFN. However, egg hatch from LFN fed B.latifrons and B.dorsalis were continuously to be suppressed for at least 2 weeks after switching to the control diet at 7d. Egg hatch did not recover more than 4% up to 24d. Proteome analysis revealed that ABD-4 like protein was under expressed by 70-83% on LFN fed females and males of B.latifrons and B.dorsalis while Pbprp 2 protein was significantly over expressed by 6-12 fold on LFN fed males only. These two proteins were not expressed in C.capitata and B.cucurbitae. Therefore, this report focused more on B.latifrons and B.dorsalis. This finding suggested a great potential for one alternative to sterilize fruit flies for SIT without irradiation.