Genetic pest management

Genetic pest management (GPM) encompasses a wide range of methods aiming to use modern genetics to reduce the harms caused by pests.  Here I focus on the use of insect genetics to control insect pests.  Such methods are based on release of modified insects to mate with wild pest insects, thereby delivering the heritable modification to their offspring.  This dependence on mating – “vertical transmission”, in contrast to the “horizontal transmission” of an infectious agent – means that such methods are extremely species-specific, with minimal direct off-target effects. The most long-established and widely used such method is the Sterile Insect Technique, in which large numbers of irradiated sterile insects, preferably males, are released to court and mate wild insects, thereby reducing the reproductive potential of the target wild pest population. Use of sterile males can be very effective, but needs sustained, frequent releases of large numbers of sterile insects.  Gene drives – genetic systems that bias inheritance in their favour – can, in principle, usefully spread novel traits into wild populations from much lower release numbers. Many designs of gene drive are under development, with significantly different properties. Ultimately, our aim is to develop multiple effective tools, so that communities can choose for themselves the most appropriate for their particular circumstances.