Genetics and biology of Anastrepha fraterculus: research supporting the use of the sterile insect technique (SIT) to control this pest in Argentina

Abstract

Two species of true fruit flies (taxonomic family Tephritidae) are considered pests of fruit and vegetable production in Argentina: the cosmopolitan Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann) and the new world South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann). The distribution of these two species in Argentina overlaps north of the capital, Buenos Aires. Regarding the control of these two pests, the varied geographical fruit producing regions in Argentina are in different fly control situations. One part is under a programme using the sterile insect technique (SIT) for the eradication of C. capitata, because A. fraterculus is not present in this area. The application of the SIT to control C. capitata north of the present line with the possibility of A. fraterculus occupying the niche left vacant by C. capitata becomes a cause of much concern. Only initial steps have been taken to investigate the genetics and biology of A. fraterculus. Consequently, only fragmentary information has been recorded in the literature regarding the use of SIT to control this species. For these reasons, the research to develop a SIT protocol to control A. fraterculus is greatly needed. In recent years, research groups have been building a network in Argentina in order to address particular aspects of the development of the SIT for Anastrepha fraterculus. The problems being addressed by these groups include improvement of artificial diets, facilitation of insect mass rearing, radiation doses and conditions for insect sterilisation, basic knowledge supporting the development of males-only strains, reduction of male maturation time to facilitate releases, identification and isolation of chemical communication signals, and a good deal of population genetic studies. This paper is the product of a concerted effort to gather all this knowledge scattered in numerous and often hard-to-access reports and papers and summarize their basic conclusions in a single publication.

Sex chromosomes in mitotic and polytene tissues of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae) from Argentina: a review

“…Currently, it is considered a complex of cryptic species (for reviews and references, cf. Selivon et al 2004, 2005a, Cáceres et al 2009, Hernández-Ortiz et al 2012, Cladera et al 2014). Multivariate morphological studies including samples from different regions of the American continent have characterized seven distinct morphotypes (Hernández-Ortiz et al 2012).…”

Current knowledge of the species complex Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae) in Brazil

“…Cladera et al (2014) stated that the key pheromone components of courtship and their roles as attractants to the two sexes have been overlooked in Anastrepha fraterculus . In contrary, here we present evidence proving that the pheromone and its role in the Anastrepha fraterculus chemical communication have been the main focus of studies performed by a few groups on the last 14 years.…”

“…fraterculus , occur in Brazil (Yamada and Selivon 2001, Selivon et al 2004, 2005a). Although, an extensive review of genetics and biology of Anastrepha fraterculus from Argentina has been published (Cladera et al 2014), information about the ecology, taxonomy, and behavior of Anastrepha fraterculus putative species in Brazil is still insufficient and this imposes constrains to implementation of environmental friendly control methods, such as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) (Dyck et al 2005). In order to apply SIT, insect strains are reared on a massive scale in facilities with the potential to produce millions of sterile insects per week (Hendrichs et al 1995).…”

Evaluating mating compatibility within fruit fly cryptic species complexes and the potential role of sex pheromones in pre-mating isolation

“…Devescovi et al (2014) expanded the evaluation of the Andean morphotype, confirmed the mating isolation with populations of the Peruvian morphotype and extended it to those of the Brazilian-1 morphotype. Two recent reviews of this subject can be found in Cladera et al (2014) and Vaníčková et al (2015a). Cladera et al (2014) discuss the implications of mating compatibility for SIT application against Anastrepha fraterculus , while Vaníčková et al (2015a) discuss the data obtained from mating incompatibility among Brazilian populations in a broader perspective, including sexual behavior, post-zygotic studies, and chemical ecology.…”