Pectinophora gossypiella (pink bollworm) OX1138
Product profile
OX1138 contains a fluorescent marker called DsRed[1] that glows red when viewed under certain filters. Because it is integrated into the insects’ DNA, the red marker can always be detected, it won’t fade with age and it is inherited if offspring are produced. The DsRed marker can also be read with PCR techniques in the laboratory to provide a further tool for identifying the captured insect, and guaranteeing complete accuracy. The strain is otherwise identical to the strain used in the current SIT programme and is sterilized by irradiation in exactly the same way. This strain offers the advantage of completely reliable monitoring to existing sterile insect programmes.
Status
The strain has been evaluated in three years of open release trials by the USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST) Laboratory in Phoenix, Arizona. CPHST is submitting the results of their evaluations to the cotton industry and consulting with a range of stakeholders.
APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services has performed two Environmental Assessments (EA) and declared “findings of no significant impact” (FONSI) on field releases of Genetically Engineered Pink Bollworm. The USDA has conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS) addressing the impact of the area–wide use of genetically engineered pink bollworm in the context of the existing SIT programme and, in a record of decision published in the Federal Register in May 2009, declared that their use was not merely acceptable but was the “the environmentally preferred alternative”. Read more here.
Performance in evaluation
CPHST has evaluated the strain for three years in open field trials and in mass-rearing trials in the mass-rearing facility. Over this time, more than 20 million genetically modified moths have been released in the USA. The red marker performs consistently well. It is still brightly visible after more than two weeks in the field or four months in the lab. The field and rearing performance of the strain is comparable to that of the current strain.