Impact of risk analyses on pest-management programs employing transgenic arthropods

Abstract

management programs. These issues are discussed here by Mogorre Hay. Genetic manlpulatlon of arthropods by recombinant DNA techniques IS poten- tially useful for Improving the manage- ment of both agricultural and medIcal/ veterinary arthropod pests’ 3. In genetic- control programs, pest arthropods are genetically modified, mass reared, and released to control either agricultural or medical/veterinary pests. Biological control employs beneficial arthropods (parasitoids and predators) to control agricultural or medtcaliveterlnary pest arthropods. Both pest-management tac- tics usually require extensive knowledge about the ecology, biology and genetics of the target pest, parasltold or predator employed. This paper reviews Issues that should be considered when developing transgenlc pest or beneficial arthropods for pest management programs. Genetic manipulation of beneficial arthropods (parasitoids or predators) has been used primarily to enhance the biological control of arthropod pests In agriculture’ 4 6, Most genetic-lmprove- ment projects to date have involved selecting a predator or parasltoid of a secondary pest for resistance to pestl- tides, then releasing the reslstant strain so that it can establish and survive the pesticides applied to control a different, pnmary pest that cannot be controlled by any other method4,‘. Genetlc em- provement thus Involves directed, pur-- poseful genetic alterations to enhance eF- ficacy of a parasitold or predator through artificial selectIon, heterosls or, poten- tially, the use of recombinant DNA techniques’. Once the improved strain has been developed, It can be deployed either by rnoculotron, In which the new strain IS released one or more times Into the environment to establish and per- sist permanently, or by ougmenltatro-1 17