PLoS ONE (2018) 13 (12 - e0207999)

Edwin Ramírez-Santos, Pedro Rendón, Kostas Bourtzis, Marc F. Schetelig, Carlos Cáceres, Asya Targovska, Tanja Rehling, Griselda K. Guillén-Navarro, Lorena Ruiz-Montoya, Jorge Toledo and Pablo Liedo (2018)
Evaluation of horizontal gene transfer risk between the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Tephritidae) and its parasitoid Fopius ceratitivorus (Braconidae)
PLoS ONE 13 (12 - e0207999)
Abstract: The transgenic strain of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wied.) VIENNA 8 1260, developed from the classical genetic sexing strain VIENNA 8, has two molecular markers that exhibit red fluorescence in the body and green fluorescence in testicles and sperm. These traits offer a precise tool to discriminate between mass-reared sterile males and wild fertile males, and they could potentially increase the effectiveness of control programs for this pest. To assess the risk of horizontal transfer of the fluorescence transgenes in natural ecosystems, we used the VIENNA 8 1260 strain and the medfly parasitoid Fopius ceratitivorus. The fluorescence signal and the inheritance of the fluorescence gene markers were monitored for over 16 generations (about two years) in both species using fluorescence microscopy and a PCR-based assay. The PCR analysis was performed in four independent laboratories. Both fluorescence microscopy and PCR analysis indicated that no horizontal gene transfer of the DsRed transgene occurred during 16 generations of medfly parasitoid rearing under experimental conditions.
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Database assignments for author(s): Kostas Bourtzis, Lorena Ruiz-Montoya, Jorge Toledo

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
general biology - morphology - evolution
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ceratitis capitata
Fopius ceratitivorus (parasitoid)	Ceratitis capitata		Guatemala