title: Managing insecticide resistance by mass release of engineered insects.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd., Oxford OX1 3PS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alphey
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Christl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Donnelly
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alphey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D007313:Insecta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D007305:Insecticide Resistance; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins