Journal article
Disruption of duplicated yellow genes in Bactrocera tryoni modifies pigmentation colouration and impacts behaviour
Thu NM Nguyen, Vivian Mendez, Christopher Ward, Peter Crisp, Alexie Papanicolaou, Amanda Choo, Phillip W Taylor, Simon W Baxter
JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE | SPRINGER HEIDELBERG | Published : 2020
Abstract
Irradiated Queensland fruit flies (Bactrocera tryoni) used in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programmes are marked with fluorescent dyes to distinguish them from wild flies when recaptured in monitoring traps. However, coating sterile pupae with powdered dyes can reduce emergence rates and fly quality and can sometimes produce insufficiently certain discrimination through inadequate coating or because the dye is transferred to wild flies through contact. Here we created a phenotypically distinct B. tryoni strain that lacks typical melanisation patterns through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis of tandemly duplicated yellow-y genes and then assessed effects of this visible trait on fly perform..
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Awarded by Hermon Slade Foundation
Awarded by Hort Frontiers Fruit Fly Fund, part of the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative
Funding Acknowledgements
This work was funded by Hermon Slade Foundation Grant 18/06 and the National SITplus programme through Hort Innovation, using the research and development levy funds from the vegetable, apple and pear, citrus, strawberry, table grape, cherry, and summer fruit industries, with co-investment from South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the research arm of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA), and the Australian Government. Quality control assessment received additional support from the SITplus collaborative fruit fly programme. Project Raising Q-fly Sterile Insect Technique to World Standard (HG14033) is funded by the Hort Frontiers Fruit Fly Fund, part of the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from Macquarie University and contributions from the Australian Government. AP is funded by the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment.