Insect population control using a dominant, repressible, lethal genetic system

A major modification to the sterile insect technique is described, in which transgenic insects homozygous for a dominant, repressible, female-specific lethal gene system are used. We demonstrate two methods that give the requ ired genetic characteristics in an otherwise wild-type genetic background. The first system uses a sex-specific promoter or enhancer to drive the expr ession of a repressible transcription factor, which in turn controls the ex pression of a toxic gene product. The second system uses non-sex-specific e xpression of the repressible transcription factor to regulate a selectively Lethal gene product. Both methods work efficiently in Drosophila melanogas ter, and we expect these principles to be widely applicable to more economi cally important organisms.