Genetic elimination of field-cage populations of Mediterranean fruit flies.

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly, Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann) is a pest of over 300 fruits, vegetables and nuts. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a control measure used to reduce the reproductive potential of populations through the mass release of sterilized male insects that mate with wild females. However, SIT flies can display poor field performance, due to the effects of mass-rearing and of the irradiation process used for sterilization.

Molecular basis of the size polymorphism of the first intron of the Adh-1 gene of the mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata.

The first intron of the gene encoding one of the alcohol dehydrogenase isoenzymes (ADH-1) in Ceratitis capitata is highly polymorphic in size. Five size variants of this intron were isolated from different strains and populations and characterized. Restriction map and sequence analysis showed that the intron size polymorphism is due to the presence or absence of (a) a copy of a defective mariner-like element, postdoc; (b) an approximately 550-bp 3' indel which exhibits no similarity to any known sequence; and (c) a central duplication of 704 bp consisting of part of the 3' end of the postdoc element, the region between postdoc and the 3' indel, and the first 20 bp of the 3' indel.