Genetically Engineered Ricin Suppresses Bactrocera Dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) Based on Demographic Analysis of Group-Reared Life Table

Abstract

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), reduces the quantity and quality of many host fruits through the process of oviposition and larval feeding, and this insect has been considered a major insect pest in several Asian countries for decades. Using an earlier-developed, female-specific system that combines the toxicity of the ricin A chain (RTA) and the alternative RNA splicing property of doublesex (Bddsx), we show that transgenic male flies harboring the RTA-Bddsx transgene unevenly repress the pest population through inheritable effects. In age-stage, two-sex life-table analyses, high larval mortality and a delay in pupation were observed after introducing the transgene. The high male to female ratio in DsRed(+) flies demonstrates the lethal effect of ricin on females. The fitness of both the DsRed(+)- and DsRed(-)-transformed females was reduced as shown in the decrease of the net reproductive rate (R-0), intrinsic rate (r), and finite rate (lambda) values compared with the wild-type populations. The integrity of the RTA-Bddsx transgene remained in more than 80% of DsRed(+) males after ten generations, supporting the stable inheritance of the transgene. All of the data from this study support the proposed RTA-Bddsx SIT approach, which provides a species-specific and environmentally friendly method of suppressing, rather than eradiating, B. dorsalis.