A repressible female-specific lethal genetic system for making transgenic insect strains suitable for a sterile-release program

We have developed a tetracycline-repressible female-specific lethal genetic system in the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster, One component of the sy stem is the tetracycline-controlled transactivator gene under the control o f the fat body and female-specific transcription enhancer from the yolk pro tein 1 gene. The other component consists of the proapoptotic gene hid unde r the control of a tetracycline-responsive element. Males and females of a strain carrying both components are viable on medium supplemented with tetr acycline, but only males survive on normal medium. A strain with such prope rties would be ideal for a sterile-insect release program, which is most ef fective when only males are released in the field.