A DsRed fluorescent protein marker under polyubiquitin promoter regulation allows visual and amplified gene detection of transgenic Caribbean fruit flies in field traps

Field population surveillance of a targeted insect pest species is critical in evaluating management programs such as the sterile insect technique. Fluorescent powder dyes currently used to distinguish released tephritids from the field population are not optimal in terms of reliability and human he...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioControl (Dordrecht, Netherlands) Netherlands), 2011-06, Vol.56 (3), p.333-340
Main Authors: Nirmala, X., Olson, S. R., Holler, T. C., Cho, K. H., Handler, A. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Amplification
Animal Biochemistry
Animal Ecology
Behavioral Sciences
Biological control
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Borax
Control programs
Dyes
Entomology
Fluorescence
Humidity
Insects
Laboratories
Life Sciences
Pest control
Pests
Plant Pathology
Polymerase chain reaction
Powder
Promoters
Propylene
Propylene glycol
Proteins
Sterilized organisms
Torula
Transgenes
Transgenic animals
Visual observation
Yeasts
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Summary:Field population surveillance of a targeted insect pest species is critical in evaluating management programs such as the sterile insect technique. Fluorescent powder dyes currently used to distinguish released tephritids from the field population are not optimal in terms of reliability and human health issues. Genetically transformed tephritid species present the possibility of using fluorescent transgenes for marking. Here we studied the stability of DsRed fluorescence in transgenic flies maintained in aqueous torula yeast borax and propylene glycol. DsRed was stable in both solutions for three weeks by visual microscopic observations and could be used to unambiguously distinguish them from non-fluorescent wild type flies. To compensate for any potential ambiguity in visual identification a diagnostic PCR was developed that could specifically amplify the exotic heterologous marker gene. Therefore, the use of sterile transgenic insect strains carrying stably integrated fluorescent protein marker genes in biologically-based control programs could greatly improve released fly identification in pest management programs.
ISSN:1386-6141
1573-8248
DOI:10.1007/s10526-011-9347-9