Chromosomal principle of radiation-induced F1 sterility in Ephestia kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Observation of morphological abnormalities in silkworm pupae after feeding 137CsCl-supplemented diet to evaluate the effects of low dose-rate exposure

Since the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, morphological abnormalities in lepidopteran insects, such as shrinkage and/or aberration of wings, have been reported. Butterflies experimentally exposed to radiocesium also show such abnormalities. However, because of a lack of data on absorbed dose and dose-effect relationship, it is unclear whether these abnormalities are caused directly by radiation. We conducted a low dose-rate exposure experiment in silkworms reared from egg to fully developed larvae on a 137CsCl-supplemented artificial diet and estimated the absorbed dose to evaluate morphological abnormalities in pupal wings. We used 137CsCl at 1.3 × 103 Bq/g fresh weight to simulate 137Cs contamination around the FDNPP. Absorbed doses were estimated using a glass rod dosimeter and Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code PHITS. Average external absorbed doses were approximately 0.24 (on diet) and 0.016 mGy/day (near diet); the average internal absorbed dose was approximately 0.82 mGy/day. Pupal wing structure is sensitive to radiation exposure. However, no significant differences were observed in the wing-to-whole body ratio of pupae between the 137CsCl-exposure and control groups. These results suggest that silkworms are insensitive to low dose-rate exposure due to chronic ingestion of high 137Cs at a high concentration.

Advances and Challenges of Using the Sterile Insect Technique for the Management of Pest Lepidoptera

Over the past 30 years, the sterile insect technique (SIT) has become a regular component of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs against several major agricultural pests and vectors of severe diseases. The SIT-based programs have been especially successful against dipteran pests. However, the SIT applicability for controlling lepidopteran pests has been challenging, mainly due to their high resistance to the ionizing radiation that is used to induce sterility. Nevertheless, the results of extensive research and currently operating SIT programs show that most problems with the implementation of SIT against pest Lepidoptera have been successfully resolved. Here, we summarize the cytogenetic peculiarities of Lepidoptera that should be considered in the development and application of SIT for a particular pest species. We also discuss the high resistance of Lepidoptera to ionizing radiation, and present the principle of derived technology based on inherited sterility (IS). Furthermore, we present successful SIT/IS applications against five major lepidopteran pests, and summarize the results of research on the quality control of reared and released insects, which is of great importance for their field performance. In the light of new research findings, we also discuss options for the development of genetic sexing strains, which is a challenge to further improve the applicability of SIT/IS against selected lepidopteran pests.

Limited intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation despite chromosomal rearrangements between closely related sympatric species of small ermine moths (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae)

In evolutionarily young species and sympatric host races of phytophagous insects, postzygotic incompatibility is often not yet fully developed, but reduced fitness of hybrids is thought to facilitate further divergence. However, empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis is limited. To assess the role of reduced hybrid fitness, we studied meiosis and fertility in hybrids of two closely related small ermine moths, Yponomeuta padella and Yponomeuta cagnagella, and determined the extent of intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation. We found extensive rearrangements between the karyotypes of the two species and irregularities in meiotic chromosome pairing in their hybrids. The fertility of reciprocal F1 and, surprisingly, also of backcrosses with both parental species was not significantly decreased compared with intraspecific offspring. The results indicate that intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation between these closely related species is limited. We conclude that the observed chromosomal rearrangements are probably not the result of an accumulation of postzygotic incompatibilities preventing hybridization. Alternative explanations, such as adaptation to new host plants, are discussed.

Irradiation biology of male brown marmorated stink bugs: is there scope for the sterile insect technique?

PURPOSE

Brown marmorated stink bugs, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), are regularly intercepted, but there are few eradication tools. Currently, no sterile insect technique program exists for Hemiptera.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adult males were irradiated at 4-60 Gy, mated and their progeny reared for two generations, with mortality assessed at F₁ egg, F₁ adult and F₂ egg stages.

RESULTS

The F₁ eggs showed a dose response to irradiation between 4 and 36 Gy, with 97% sterility at 16 Gy, and higher doses producing complete egg mortality. Only rare F₁ survivors had progeny, but the F₂ generation showed identical responses between maternal and paternal lines; most egg batches showed either very low or very high mortality. Irradiation with 16 Gy resulted in 98.5% sterility, cumulative over F₁ and F₂.

CONCLUSIONS

Lack of a dose response at the F₂ generation precludes the use of irradiation-induced inherited sterility. The conventional sterile insect technique appears possible by irradiation of males from ∼12 to 16 Gy. The effect of radiation dose on females is not known, thus we cannot conclude whether bi-sex release is feasible so for now the release of males only is recommended. More work is needed on the competitive fitness of irradiated males, and logistics such as mass rearing or field collection, in order to determine the feasibility of the approach.

Changes occurred in the testes and DNA pattern of males wax moth (Galleria mellonella) first generation as a result of irradiation of their parents

Nowadays, the sterile insect technique is broadly used as a pest control measure. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the alteration occurred in testes and DNA pattern as an effect of inherited sterility. Full grown pupae of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella were irradiated with 80 and 160 Gy of γ irradiation. The size of the testes was decreased by increasing of γ irradiation dose. Also, the size of the testes was decreased in F 1 males comparing with the size of the testes of both the parents and the untreated control. The effects of γ rays on the DNA patterns of adult male parents and F 1 males showed alterations among the controls, the treated parents and F 1 individuals. Exposure to radiation caused very frequently the appearance of some extra bands and the deficiency of others in the arbitrary random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction amplification patterns of the irradiated insects.

Sterile insect technique and F₁ sterility in the European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana

Newly emerged adults of the European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana (Denis and Schiffermuller) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), were irradiated with various doses of gamma radiation and crossed to unirradiated counterparts of the opposite sex. Fecundity was decreased when unirradiated females were mated with either 300-or 350-Gy-irradiated males. Adult males that were irradiated with 400 Gy and mated with unirradiated females retained a residual fertility of 2.7%. The radiation dose at which irradiated females were found to be 100% sterile when mated with unirradiated males was 150 Gy. The inherited effects in the F1 progeny of irradiated male parents were examined at 100, 150, and 200 Gy. Fecundity and fertility of the F1 progeny of males irradiated with 150 Gy and inbred or crossed with irradiated and unirradiated moths were also recorded. A significant reduction in fertility was observed when F1 males mated with either F1 or unirradiated females. According to sterility index, F1 females who mated with F1 males had greater sterility than when F1 females were crossed to 150-Gy-irradiated males. Based upon the results of this study, 150 Gy of gamma radiation would be the optimal dose to use in a sterile insect technique and F1 sterility program against L. botrana.

Radiation-induced metabolomic changes in sterile male Μοnochamus alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Radiation-induced sterile insect technique is a biologically based, environment-friendly method for the suppression or eradication of a number of insect pests. Although the basic mechanisms underlying the technology have been well studied, little is known about the cell responses in organisms. Characterization of the metabolic shift associated with radiation exposure in sterile insects would be helpful for understanding the detailed mechanism underlying this technique and promote its practical application. In this article, a metabolomic study was performed to characterize the global metabolic changes induced by radiation using untreated and 40 Gy (60)Coγ-irradiated testes of Japanese pine sawyer, Monochamus alternatus Hope. Differential metabolites were detected and tentatively identified. Many key metabolites in glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, as well as most fatty and amino acids, were elevated in irradiated male M. alternatus, presumably resulting from depression of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, each of which are important pathways for energy generation Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) in insect spermatozoa. The findings in this article will contribute to our knowledge of the characteristic metabolic changes associated with irradiation sterility and understand the molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-induced sterile insect technique.

Evolution of multiple sex chromosomes in the spider genus Malthonica (Araneae: Agelenidae) indicates unique structure of the spider sex chromosome systems

Most spiders exhibit a multiple sex chromosome system, X(1)X(2)0, whose origin has not been satisfactorily explained. Examination of the sex chromosome systems in the spider genus Malthonica (Agelenidae) revealed considerable diversity in sex chromosome constitution within this group. Besides modes X(1)X(2)0 (M. silvestris) and X(1)X(2)X(3)0 (M. campestris), a neo-X(1)X(2)X(3)X(4)X(5)Y system in M. ferruginea was found. Ultrastructural analysis of spread pachytene spermatocytes revealed that the X(1)X(2)0 and X(1)X(2)X(3)0 systems include a pair of homomorphic sex chromosomes. Multiple X chromosomes and the pair exhibit an end-to-end pairing, being connected by attachment plaques. The X(1)X(2)X(3)X(4)X(5)Y system of M. ferruginea arose by rearrangement between the homomorphic sex chromosome pair and an autosome. Multiple X chromosomes and the sex chromosome pair do not differ from autosomes in a pattern of constitutive heterochromatin. Ultrastructural data on sex chromosome pairing in other spiders indicate that the homomorphic sex chromosome pair forms an integral part of the spider sex chromosome systems. It is suggested that this pair represents ancestral sex chromosomes of spiders, which generated multiple X chromosomes by non-disjunctions. Structural differentiation of newly formed X chromosomes has been facilitated by heterochromatinization of sex chromosome bivalents observed in prophase I of spider females.