Sex ratio manipulation for insect population control.

Abstract

The recent developments of molecular genetic engineering and insect transformation have now re-ignited an academic interest to overcome many of the problems that were previously intractable using standard genetic tools. This chapter focuses on the application of contemporary molecular and genetic techniques to manipulate the sex ratio of insect species. Three methods of sex ratio manipulation and their application to control insect populations (including plant pests) are described: segregation distortion, female killing and sex reversion to make phenotypic males. A detailed theoretical comparison of their relative field performance has shown that these methods can be more effective than sterile insect technique.