EP 9 - Alternative to 1080? Professor Neil Gemmell, University of Otago

EP 9 - Interview with Professor Neil J. Gemmell - H.O.D of Anatomy University of Otago

Could this be an alternative to 1080? Down load to find out!

Biological control is widely used in the control and eradication of plant and animal species. Among the most common forms of biological control are a group of approaches that aim to control or eradicate population/species by reducing the fertility and reproductive capacity of a population/species. To date the most successful of these approaches has been the Sterile Male Technique. In this approach large quantities of sterile males are released into a population each generation. If released in sufficient numbers these males monopolise matings with females, but because they are sterile no progeny are produced resulting in a reduction in the population size. The main problem with current Sterile Male approaches is that sterile males need to be produced and released every year. The Trojan Female Technique uses mitochondrial DNA mutations that affect male, but not female fertility and fitness, circumventing this problem producing continuous, self-sustaining biological control.

The TFT is a novel twist of the classic “Sterile Male” technique currently used in biocontrol. The essence of our idea is to use mitochondrial mutations that greatly affect male, but not female, fertility to produce continuous, self-sustaining biological control.

Key advantages of  TFT are:

• No extensive use of genetic modification,
• No elaborate delivery system e.g. parasitic vectors and intermediate hosts,
• Species specific.
• Little (no?) danger of accidental release or cross-species transmission