title: Flight performance and teneral energy reserves of two genetically-modified and one wild-type strain of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti.
abstract: The ability of sterile males to survive, disperse, find, and mate with wild females is key to the success of sterile insect technique (SIT). The Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal (RIDL) system is a genetics-based SIT strategy for Aedes aegypti. We examine two aspects of insect performance, flight potential (dispersal ability) and teneral energy reserves, by comparing wild-type (WT) males with genetically-modified lines carrying the tetracycline-repressible constructs OX513A and OX3604C. Our results show significant differences in the flight capacity of the modified lines. OX513A males bred with tetracycline covered 38% less distance, while OX3604C males reared without tetracycline spent 21% less time in flight than their WT counterparts. Such differences in flight performance should be considered when designing release programs (e.g., by placing release sites sufficiently close together to achieve adequate coverage). All mosquito lines had similar teneral carbohydrate contents, though males of the OX3604C line contained more lipids. The addition of tetracycline to the larval diet did not influence the flight potential of the males; however, it did change the teneral sugar reserves of the WT and the lipid reserves of both the WT and the OX3604C lines.
authors: Division of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London , London, United Kingdom. irka@ufl.edu
authors: Irka
authors: I
authors: Bargielowski
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Kaufmann
authors: Luke
authors: L
authors: Alphey
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Reiter
authors: Jacob
authors: J
authors: Koella
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001824:Body Constitution; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005799:Genes, Dominant / Q000235:genetics; D005804:Genes, Lethal / Q000235:genetics; D006003:Glycogen / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000235:genetics; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000379:methods*; D009154:Mutation; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D014921:Wings, Animal; D015004:Yellow Fever / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D008055:Lipids; D006003:Glycogen; D013752:Tetracycline