Genetic elimination of field-cage populations of Mediterranean fruit flies

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly, Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann) is a pest of over 300 fruits, vegetables and nuts. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a control measure used to reduce the reproductive potential of populations through the mass release of sterilized male insects that mate with wild females. However, SIT flies can display poor field performance, due to the effects of mass-rearing and of the irradiation process used for sterilization. The development of female-lethal RIDL (release of insects carrying a dominant lethal) strains for medfly can overcome many of the problems of SIT associated with irradiation. Here, we present life-history characterizations for two medfly RIDL strains, OX3864A and OX3647Q. Our results show (i) full functionality of RIDL, (ii) equivalency of RIDL and wild-type strains for life-history characteristics, and (iii) a high level of sexual competitiveness against both wild-type and wild-derived males. We also present the first proof-of-principle ...地中海实蝇（medfly，*Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann*）是一类可危害超过300种果蔬与坚果的害虫。绝育昆虫技术（SIT）作为一种害虫防控手段，通过大规模释放已绝育的雄性实蝇，使其与野生雌性交配，从而降低种群繁殖潜力。然而，受大规模饲养与绝育辐照流程的影响，经SIT处理的实蝇野外表现往往不佳。针对地中海实蝇研发的雌性致死型显性致死昆虫释放技术（RIDL，release of insects carrying a dominant lethal）品系，可克服SIT技术中与辐照相关的诸多问题。本研究对两种地中海实蝇RIDL品系OX3864A与OX3647Q开展了生活史特征表征，研究结果表明：（1）RIDL技术功能完整；（2）RIDL品系与野生型品系的生活史特征无显著差异；（3）相较于野生型及野外来源的雄性实蝇，RIDL品系雄性具备极高的性竞争力。本研究同时呈现了首个原理验证性...