Biological control

Abstract

The invention relates to a non-human multicellular organism carrying a dominant lethal genetic system, the lethal effect of which is conditional, wherein the lethal effect of the lethal system occurs in the natural environment of the organism.

1 . A nonhuman multicellular organism carrying a dominant lethal genetic system, the lethal effect of which is conditional., wherein the lethal effect of the lethal system occurs in the natural environment of the organism.  
     
     
         2 . An organism according to  claim 1 , wherein the conditional dominant lethal genetic system is the only recombinant element present in the organism.  
     
     
         3 . An organism according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the expression of the lethal genetic system occurs in the absence of a substance which is absent from the natural environment of the organism.  
     
     
         4 . An organism according to  claim 3 , wherein the substance is a dietary additive which is not a normal food component for the organism.  
     
     
         5 . An organism according to  claim 4  wherein the dietary additive is an artificial or synthetic compound, an antibiotic, antibiotic analogue or derivative.  
     
     
         6 . An organism according to any preceding claim, wherein the conditional lethal effect of the lethal system is not dependent upon the temperature range which occurs in the natural environment of the organism.  
     
     
         7 . An organism according to any preceding claim wherein the lethal effect of the dominant lethal system is conditionally suppressible.  
     
     
         8 . An organism according to  claim 7 , wherein the suppressible expression system is a repressible by tetracycline or au analogue or derivative thereof.  
     
     
         9 . An organism according to any preceding claim, wherein the lethal system is homozygous at more than one locus.  
     
     
         10 . An organism according to any preceding claim, wherein the lethal system is located on the X chromosome.  
     
     
         11 . An organism according to any preceding claim wherein the lethal system has multiple essential targets.  
     
     
         12 . An organism according to any preceding claim, wherein the lethal genetic system comprises all or part of the Drosophilia Nipp1Dm gene, or functional equivalent thereof.  
     
     
         13 . An organism according to any preceding claim wherein the organism is an insect.  
     
     
         14 . An organism according to  claim 13 , wherein the organism is selected from the group of: 
 Australian sheep blowfly ( Lucilia cuprina ), Asian tiger mosquito ( Aedes albopictus ); Japanese beetle ( Popilla japonica ),White-fringed beetle (Graphognatus spp.), Citrus blackfly ( Aleurocanthus woglumi ) Oriental Suit fly ( Dacus dorsalis ), Olive fruit fly ( Dacus oleae ), tropical fruit fly ( Dacus cucurbitae, Dacus zonatus ), Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitata ), Natal fruit fly ( Ceratitis rosa ), Cherry fruit fly ( Rhagoletis cerass ), Queensland fruit fly ( Bactrocera tryoni ), Caribbean fruit fly ( Anastrepha suspensa ), imported fire ants ( Solenopis richieri, Solenopis invicta ), Gypsy moth ( Lymantria dispar ), Codling moth ( Cydia pomonella ), Brown tail moth ( Euproctis chrysorrhoea ), yellow fever mosquito ( Aedes aegypti ), malaria mosquitoes ( Anopheles gambiae, Anopheles stephansi ), New world screwworm ( Cochiomyia hominivorar ), Old World Screwworm ( Chrysomya bezziana ), Tsetse fly (Glossina spp). Boll weevil ( Anthonomous grandis ), Damsel fly ( Enallagma hageni ), Dragonfly ( Libellula luctuosa ) and rice stem borer ( Tryporyza incertulas ).    
     
     
         15 . An organism according to any of claims  1 - 12 , wherein the organism is a plant which produces pollen.  
     
     
         16 . An organism according to any of claims  1 ,  3 - 12  and  15 , wherein the organism is a plant having a conditional lethal dominant system in combination with one or more transgenes.  
     
     
         17 . An organism according to any preceding claim, wherein the lethal genetic system is sex-specific or specific to a sexual entity or tissue.  
     
     
         18 . An organism according to  claim 17 , wherein the lethal effect is sex-specific or sex-entity specific at one stage of the life cycle of the organism, but not specific at another stage.  
     
     
         19 . An organism according to claims  17  or  18 , wherein the organism does not have a dominant sex-specific lethal genetic system which is unconditional and is expressed in every individual.  
     
     
         20 . An organism according to any of claims  17 - 19 , wherein the lethal effect is specifc to females or female tissue.  
     
     
         21 . A method of biological control comprising: 
 i) breeding a stock of organisms according to any preceding claim under permissive conditions;    ii) distributing the organisms into the environment at a locus for biological control; and    iii) achieving biological control through expression of the lethal system in offspring resulting from interbreeding of the individuals of the biological control agent with individuals of the opposite sex of the wild population.    
     
     
         22 . A method of biological control according to  claim 21 , wherein both males and females arc distributed.  
     
     
         23 . A method of biological control according to  claim 21 , wherein one sex is distributed.  
     
     
         24 . A method of biological control according to  claim 23 , wherein there is sex-separation prior to organism distribution by expression of a sex specific lethal genetic system of an organism according to claim  17 - 20 .  
     
     
         25 . A method of biological control according to any of claims  21 - 24 , wherein the lethal effect results in killing of greater than 90% of the target class of the progeny of matings between released organisms and the wild population.  
     
     
         26 . A method for producing organisms for biological control, comprising the step of breeding a stock of or b according to any preceding claim under permissive conditions.  
     
     
         27 . A method for the sex separation of organisms, wherein the expression of a sex specific dominant conditional lethal system according to  claim 17  or  18  in an organism is used to kill one sex to leave either. a pure or predominately male or female population; a population in which organisms comprise either male or female tissues; or a population in which organisms are unable to produce functional male gametes or female gametes or both.  
     
     
         28 . A polynucleotide sequence encoding a conditional dominant lethal genetic system according to any preceding claim.  
     
     
         29 . A polynucleotide sequence according to  claim 28 , encoding the Nipp1 gene.  
     
     
         30 . A vector or vectors comprising a polynucleotide sequence according to  claim 28  or  29 .  
     
     
         31 . A vector according to  claim 30 , comprising a tetracycline-repressible dominant lethal gene or genetic system.  
     
     
         32 . A vector according to  claim 30  or  31 , comprising at least one insulator sequence.  
     
     
         33 . A vector according to  claim 32 , wherein the insulator sequence is derived from vertebrate DNA.  
     
     
         34 . A vector according to any of  claims 30  to  33 , wherein the vector comprises modular genetic elements.  
     
     
         35 . A method of conducting a vector appropriate for imps a dominant lethal genetic system to an organism, comprising the steps of: 
 i providing at least one conditional lethal genetic system;    ii choosing a promoter appropriate for expression of the system in the desired organism;    iii ligating tic promoter and conditional lethal genetic system, optionally with other components, to produce a functional vector suitable for transformation;    wherein transformation of the vector into the organism produces an organism for biological control according to the invention.    
     
     
         36 . A cell comprising a vector according to any of claims  30 - 34 .  
     
     
         37 . A method for the field testing of transgenic crops, comprising the step of growing a transgenic plant comprising a conditional lethal dominant system under permissive conditions, and then distributing the plant into the environment where it is exposed to restrictive conditions.