Developing the radiation‐based sterile insect technique (SIT) for controlling Aedes aegypti: identification of a sterilizing dose

Abstract

Background: The sterile insect technique (SIT) is emerging as a tool to supplement traditional pesticide-based control of Aedes aegypti, a prominent mosquito vector of microbes that has increased the global burden of human morbidity and mortality over the past 50 years. SIT relies on rearing, sterilizing and releasing large numbers of male mosquitoes that will mate with fertile wild females, thus reducing production of offspring from the target population. In this study, we investigated the effects of ionizing radiation (gamma) on male and female survival, longevity, mating behavior, and sterility of Ae. aegypti in a dose-response design. This work is a first step towards developing an operational SIT field suppression program against Ae. aegypti in St

Corrigendum: Developing the radiation‐based sterile insect technique (SIT) for controlling Aedes aegypti: identification of a sterilizing dose

“…aegypti and Ae. albopictus that are irradiated at doses which induce sterility in males of the same species are more likely to blood‐feed, a clear contrast to our observations in Chen et al 2 . There are at least two reasons why the results of these two studies differ.…”

“…Considering the contrasting findings between the investigation conducted by Moretti et al 1 . and Chen et al 2 . we regret not finding their paper in our literature search before submission of our article.…”

“…First, methods of assessing feeding propensity differed between the studies. Chen et al 2 . offered warmed bovine blood to 3‐day‐old female Ae.…”

Upscaling irradiation protocols of Aedes albopictus pupae within an SIT Programme in Reunion Island

“…It has been shown that X-rays provide a practical and effective alternative to gamma-ray for sterilization of insects, are often less expensive, and are subjected to less stringent regulations [20][21][22] . Ionizing radiation induces dominant lethal mutations in the chromosomes of germ cells of the insect 19 that significantly affect the fertility of males [22][23][24][25] . The more the absorbed dose increases, the higher the sterility, and the higher the risk of off-target, somatic damage occurring, which can negatively impact insect quality 26 .…”

Targeting Aedes aegypti Metabolism with Next-Generation Insecticides

“…The method requires the production of large numbers of sterilized males, which are released into the environment, and mate with a local population of mosquitoes. If the ratio of sterilized males to females is high enough, they will outcompete the non-sterile males and lead to a reduction in the mosquito population [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. The production of sterilized males is challenging and makes it difficult to translate into largescale mosquito control programs.…”