Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management
IntroductionThe fall armyworm is one of the most globally significant agricultural pests, damaging corn, sorghum and other crops central to food production. It has developed resistance to several classes of chemical insecticides and, more recently, insect-resistant ‘Bt’ biotech corn varieties. As Bt...
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2025-08-01
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| author | Catherine E. Reavey Felipe A. Domingues Kyla Ercit Ricardo L. Pinto Neil Naish Mayur Yadav Tamires Frazon Katarzyna Cabala Edward Sulston Angela Pickl-Herk Matt Edwards Leonardo L. Miraldo Dyrson Abbade Neto Mike Darrington Larissa Silva Flavia E. Furquim Juliana G. Rodrigues Isabella de Oliveira Simoni Túlio Silva Welton Magalhaes Thea Marubbi Mattia Poletto Benjamin D. Sperry David Treanor Jordan McAlinden Sam Buckby Thais de Andrade Bettoni Hellen M. Couto de Abreu Natalia C. Verza Nathan R. Rose Grey K. Frandsen Neil I. Morrison Kelly J. Matzen |
| author_facet | Catherine E. Reavey Felipe A. Domingues Kyla Ercit Ricardo L. Pinto Neil Naish Mayur Yadav Tamires Frazon Katarzyna Cabala Edward Sulston Angela Pickl-Herk Matt Edwards Leonardo L. Miraldo Dyrson Abbade Neto Mike Darrington Larissa Silva Flavia E. Furquim Juliana G. Rodrigues Isabella de Oliveira Simoni Túlio Silva Welton Magalhaes Thea Marubbi Mattia Poletto Benjamin D. Sperry David Treanor Jordan McAlinden Sam Buckby Thais de Andrade Bettoni Hellen M. Couto de Abreu Natalia C. Verza Nathan R. Rose Grey K. Frandsen Neil I. Morrison Kelly J. Matzen |
| author_sort | Catherine E. Reavey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionThe fall armyworm is one of the most globally significant agricultural pests, damaging corn, sorghum and other crops central to food production. It has developed resistance to several classes of chemical insecticides and, more recently, insect-resistant ‘Bt’ biotech corn varieties. As Bt varieties constitute the great majority of corn acreage in Brazil, proactive resistance management strategies are required to protect the durability of insecticidal efficacy of those cultivars. Previously, we reported on the development of a ‘self-limiting’ fall armyworm strain, called OX5382G, which – after release in the field – is engineered to suppress populations of fall armyworm and manage resistance to Bt crops in treated populations of this pest.MethodsHere, we build on this work by carrying out contained studies to empirically assess the pest suppression and resistance management benefits of releasing OX5382G males. We also report on the first open field releases of the OX5382G self-limiting strain in Brazil. Following commercial biosafety approval of this strain by Brazilian government regulators, deployment-relevant OX5382G male performance was then assessed in larger, operational trials in Brazil.ResultsPest suppression and resistance management benefits were demonstrated in contained studies. In the first open field releases, OX5382G males showed comparable performance with wild-type counterparts in terms of dispersal and mating ability. In the subsequent larger, farm-scale trials in Brazil, OX5382G mated effectively in the field and we demonstrated that relatively modest release rates can achieve over-flooding ratios expected to exert suppression and/or resistance management.DiscussionAll assessments to date suggest that self-limiting fall armyworm is a promising future tool for managing fall armyworm and extending the durability of Bt crops’ effectiveness against damaging lepidopteran pests. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-85ef04b4d77e4315bb287df088fc8006 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-3218 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-85ef04b4d77e4315bb287df088fc80062025-08-22T15:48:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Agronomy2673-32182025-08-01710.3389/fagro.2025.16136891613689Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest ManagementCatherine E. Reavey0Felipe A. Domingues1Kyla Ercit2Ricardo L. Pinto3Neil Naish4Mayur Yadav5Tamires Frazon6Katarzyna Cabala7Edward Sulston8Angela Pickl-Herk9Matt Edwards10Leonardo L. Miraldo11Dyrson Abbade Neto12Mike Darrington13Larissa Silva14Flavia E. Furquim15Juliana G. Rodrigues16Isabella de Oliveira Simoni17Túlio Silva18Welton Magalhaes19Thea Marubbi20Mattia Poletto21Benjamin D. Sperry22David Treanor23Jordan McAlinden24Sam Buckby25Thais de Andrade Bettoni26Hellen M. Couto de Abreu27Natalia C. Verza28Nathan R. Rose29Grey K. Frandsen30Neil I. Morrison31Kelly J. Matzen32Oxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec do Brasil, São Paulo, BrazilOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomOxitec Ltd, Abingdon, United KingdomIntroductionThe fall armyworm is one of the most globally significant agricultural pests, damaging corn, sorghum and other crops central to food production. It has developed resistance to several classes of chemical insecticides and, more recently, insect-resistant ‘Bt’ biotech corn varieties. As Bt varieties constitute the great majority of corn acreage in Brazil, proactive resistance management strategies are required to protect the durability of insecticidal efficacy of those cultivars. Previously, we reported on the development of a ‘self-limiting’ fall armyworm strain, called OX5382G, which – after release in the field – is engineered to suppress populations of fall armyworm and manage resistance to Bt crops in treated populations of this pest.MethodsHere, we build on this work by carrying out contained studies to empirically assess the pest suppression and resistance management benefits of releasing OX5382G males. We also report on the first open field releases of the OX5382G self-limiting strain in Brazil. Following commercial biosafety approval of this strain by Brazilian government regulators, deployment-relevant OX5382G male performance was then assessed in larger, operational trials in Brazil.ResultsPest suppression and resistance management benefits were demonstrated in contained studies. In the first open field releases, OX5382G males showed comparable performance with wild-type counterparts in terms of dispersal and mating ability. In the subsequent larger, farm-scale trials in Brazil, OX5382G mated effectively in the field and we demonstrated that relatively modest release rates can achieve over-flooding ratios expected to exert suppression and/or resistance management.DiscussionAll assessments to date suggest that self-limiting fall armyworm is a promising future tool for managing fall armyworm and extending the durability of Bt crops’ effectiveness against damaging lepidopteran pests.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fagro.2025.1613689/fullbiological controlgenetically engineeredfall armyworminsectlepidopterapest management |
| spellingShingle | Catherine E. Reavey Felipe A. Domingues Kyla Ercit Ricardo L. Pinto Neil Naish Mayur Yadav Tamires Frazon Katarzyna Cabala Edward Sulston Angela Pickl-Herk Matt Edwards Leonardo L. Miraldo Dyrson Abbade Neto Mike Darrington Larissa Silva Flavia E. Furquim Juliana G. Rodrigues Isabella de Oliveira Simoni Túlio Silva Welton Magalhaes Thea Marubbi Mattia Poletto Benjamin D. Sperry David Treanor Jordan McAlinden Sam Buckby Thais de Andrade Bettoni Hellen M. Couto de Abreu Natalia C. Verza Nathan R. Rose Grey K. Frandsen Neil I. Morrison Kelly J. Matzen Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management Frontiers in Agronomy biological control genetically engineered fall armyworm insect lepidoptera pest management |
| title | Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management |
| title_full | Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management |
| title_fullStr | Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management |
| title_short | Field Performance of a Self-Limiting, Genetically Engineered Fall Armyworm for Biological Pest Management |
| title_sort | field performance of a self limiting genetically engineered fall armyworm for biological pest management |
| topic | biological control genetically engineered fall armyworm insect lepidoptera pest management |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fagro.2025.1613689/full |
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