Improving the sex-specificity of a conditional female lethal system for genetic biocontrol of the New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax.

ABSTRACT: The New World screwworm is an obligate parasitic fly and a significant economic pest of livestock in the Americas. Although eradicated from the USA using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), enhancing SIT efficiency remains a priority. A promising approach involves conditional female-lethal genetic strains that produce only males in the absence of tetracycline, ideally eliminating females early in development to reduce larval diet costs. However, while some strains match wild-type production levels, lower male fitness reduces the net benefit of replacing the current wild-type strain with one of these genetic-sexing strains. This study aimed to improve strain performance through female-specific expression of both the driver and effector components of the lethality system. We tested four tran

SUBMITTER: Lowman AV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12627594 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature