Female-specific flightless (fsRIDL) phenotype for control of Aedes albopictus

Background: aedes albopictus,the asian tiger mosquito,is a vector of several arboviruses including dengue and chikungunya,and is also a significant nuisance mosquito. it is one of the most invasive of mosquitoes with a relentlessly increasing geographic distribution. conventional control methods have so far failed to control ae. albopictus adequately. novel genetics-based strategies offer a promising alternative or aid towards efficient control of this mosquito. methodology/principal findings: we describe here the isolation,characterisation and use of the ae. albopictus actin-4 gene to drive a dominant lethal gene in the indirect flight muscles of ae. albopictus,thus inducing a conditional female-specific late-acting flightless phenotype. we also show that in this context,the actin-4 regulatory regions from both ae. albopictus and ae. aegypti can be used to provide conditional female-specific flightlessness in either species. conclusion/significance: with the disease-transmitting females incapacitated,the female flightless phenotype encompasses a genetic sexing mechanism and would be suitable for controlling ae. albopictus using a male-only release approach as part of an integrated pest management strategy. © 2012 labbé et al.