Open AccessThe sterile insect technique for the management of the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii: Establishing the optimum irradiation dose
Author(s) -
Geneviève Lanouette,
Jacques Brodeur,
François Fournier,
Véronique Martel,
Marc J. B. Vreysen,
Carlos Cáceres,
Annabelle Firlej
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0180821
Subject(s) - drosophila suzukii , sterile insect technique , biology , fecundity , irradiation , drosophila (subgenus) , pupa , wing , drosophilidae , larva , insect , gamma irradiation , pest analysis , zoology , toxicology , drosophila melanogaster , horticulture , botany , population , medicine , genetics , physics , environmental health , nuclear physics , engineering , gene , aerospace engineering
The spotted wing drosophila Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae), a pest of berries stone fruits, invaded North America and Europe in 2008. Current control methods rely mainly on insecticides. The sterile insect technique (SIT) has potential as an additional control tactic for the integrated management of D . suzukii . As a step towards the development of the SIT, this study aimed at finding the optimum irradiation dose to sterilize D . suzukii under controlled laboratory conditions. Four-day-old D . suzukii pupae were irradiated 12 to 24 hours prior to adult emergence in a 60 Co Gamma Cell 220 and in a 137 Cs Gamma Cell 3000 with doses of 30, 50, 70, 80, 90, 100 or 120 Gy. Emergence rate (88.1%), percent of deformed flies (4.0%) and survival curves were not affected by the tested irradiation doses. However, some reproductive parameters of the flies were affected by irradiation. Females irradiated with a dose of 50 Gy or more had almost no fecundity. When non-irradiated females were mated with irradiated males, egg hatch decreased exponentially with irradiation dose from 82.6% for the untreated control males to 4.0% for males irradiated with 120 Gy. Mortality of F1 individuals from the irradiated treatment also occurred during larval and pupal stages, with an egg to adult survival of 0.2%. However, descendants produced by the irradiated generation were fertile. These results are an encouraging first experimental step towards the development of the SIT for the management of D . suzukii populations.