White pupae phenotype of tephritids is caused by parallel mutations of a MFS transporter

Christopher M. Ward, Roswitha A. Aumann, Mark A. Whitehead, Katerina Nikolouli, Gary Leveque, Georgia Gouvi, Elisabeth Fung, Sarah J. Reiling, Haig Djambazian, Margaret A. Hughes, Sam Whiteford, Carlos Caceres-Barrios, Thu N. M. Nguyen, Amanda Choo, Peter Crisp, Sheina B. Sim, Scott M. Geib, František Marec, Irina Häcker, Jiannis Ragoussis, Alistair C. Darby, Kostas Bourtzis (), Simon W. Baxter () and Marc F. Schetelig ()
Additional contact information
Christopher M. Ward: University of Adelaide
Roswitha A. Aumann: Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Institute for Insect Biotechnology
Mark A. Whitehead: Centre for Genomic Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, The Biosciences Building
Katerina Nikolouli: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
Gary Leveque: McGill University Genome Centre, McGill University
Georgia Gouvi: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
Elisabeth Fung: University of Adelaide
Sarah J. Reiling: McGill University Genome Centre, McGill University
Haig Djambazian: McGill University Genome Centre, McGill University
Margaret A. Hughes: Centre for Genomic Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, The Biosciences Building
Sam Whiteford: Centre for Genomic Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, The Biosciences Building
Carlos Caceres-Barrios: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
Thu N. M. Nguyen: University of Adelaide
Amanda Choo: University of Adelaide
Peter Crisp: University of Adelaide
Sheina B. Sim: USDA-ARS Daniel K. Inouye US Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center
Scott M. Geib: USDA-ARS Daniel K. Inouye US Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center
František Marec: Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology
Irina Häcker: Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Institute for Insect Biotechnology
Jiannis Ragoussis: McGill University Genome Centre, McGill University
Alistair C. Darby: Centre for Genomic Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, The Biosciences Building
Kostas Bourtzis: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture
Simon W. Baxter: Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne
Marc F. Schetelig: Justus-Liebig-University Gießen, Institute for Insect Biotechnology

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Mass releases of sterilized male insects, in the frame of sterile insect technique programs, have helped suppress insect pest populations since the 1950s. In the major horticultural pests Bactrocera dorsalis, Ceratitis capitata, and Zeugodacus cucurbitae, a key phenotype white pupae (wp) has been used for decades to selectively remove females before releases, yet the gene responsible remained unknown. Here, we use classical and modern genetic approaches to identify and functionally characterize causal wp− mutations in these distantly related fruit fly species. We find that the wp phenotype is produced by parallel mutations in a single, conserved gene. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of the wp gene leads to the rapid generation of white pupae strains in C. capitata and B. tryoni. The conserved phenotype and independent nature of wp− mutations suggest this technique can provide a generic approach to produce sexing strains in other major medical and agricultural insect pests.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20680-5

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