Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
B
Figure 14.2
A) A transgenic strain of the predatory mite
Metaseiulus occidentalis
(Acari: Phytoseiidae)
containing a
lac
Z marker gene was released into the field on April 10, 1996, in Gainesville, FL. This
was a short-term release designed to evaluate the fitness of the strain, its stability, and our ability to
predict its behavior and to contain it. Because this predatory mite lacks wings and tends to stay on
the release plants if provided adequate prey, these predators were released into the center row of
potted plants with the outside row of pesticide-treated plants serving as “traps” to reduce the likeli-
hood of escape from the plot. The white poles surrounding the release site contain clear sticky pan-
els (not visible) at two heights to monitor any movement of the predators out of the plot; only two
or three predators were collected on the sticky panels over the course of the experiment. At the end
of the experiment, the plants were placed in plastic garbage bags and autoclaved to preclude the
transgenic predators from persisting in the environment. This predator, originally from the western
United States, is unable to persist in Florida's hot, wet summers and so was “climatically contained”
and could not permanently establish. Furthermore, no wild type population was present with which
it could interbreed. B) Before making the release, approval was obtained from the University of
Florida's biosafety committee, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Florida Department
of the Environment, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Personnel from these agencies were pres-
ent at the release site to ensure that the requirements of the permit were met.
