Background The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is a major destructive
insect pest due to its broad host range, which includes hundreds of fruits and vegetables. It …

There is great interest in being able to spread beneficial traits throughout wild populations
in ways that are self-sustaining. Here, we describe a chromosomal selfish genetic element, …

Background Chemoreception is based on the senses of smell and taste that are crucial for
animals to find new food sources, shelter, and mates. The initial step in olfaction involves the …

A gene drive method of particular interest for population suppression utilizes homing
endonuclease genes (HEGs), wherein a site-specific, nuclease-encoding cassette is copied, in the …

Background The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum has emerged as an important model
organism for the study of gene function in development and physiology, for ecological and …

Gene drive-based strategies for modifying populations face the problem that genes encoding
cargo and the drive mechanism are subject to separation, mutational inactivation, and loss …

Background The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum is an emerging insect model organism
representing the largest insect order, Coleoptera, which encompasses several serious …

Canonical Wnt signaling has been implicated in an AP axis polarizing mechanism in most
animals, despite limited evidence from arthropods. In the long-germ insect, Drosophila, Wnt …

Insects play important roles as predators, prey, pollinators, recyclers, hosts, parasitoids, and
sources of economically important products. They can also destroy crops; wound animals; …

Wnt/β-catenin and hedgehog (Hh) signaling are essential for transmitting signals across cell
membranes in animal embryos. Early patterning of the principal insect model, Drosophila …