Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The successful suppression of a target insect population using the sterile insect technique (SIT) partly
depends on the premise that the laboratory insects used for mass rearing are genetically compatible with the target
population, that the mating competitiveness of laboratory reared males is at least comparable to that of their wild
counterparts, and that mass rearing and sterilization processes do not in themselves compromise male fitness to a degree
that precludes them from successfully competing for mates in the wild. This study investigated the fitness and sexual
cross-compatibility between samples of field collected and laboratory reared An. arabiensis under laboratory conditions.
RESULTS: The physiological and reproductive fitness of the MALPAN laboratory strain is not substantially modified with
respect to the field population at Malahlapanga. Further, a high degree of mating compatibility between MALPAN and
the Malahlapanga population was established based on cross-mating experiments. Lastly, the morphological
characteristics of hybrid ovarian polytene chromosomes further support the contention that the MALPAN laboratory
colony and the An. arabiensis population at Malahlapanga are genetically homogenous and therefore compatible.
CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the presence of a perennial and isolated population of An. arabiensis at
Malahlapanga presents a unique opportunity for assessing the feasibility of SIT as a malaria vector control option.
The MALPAN laboratory colony has retained sufficient enough measures of reproductive and physiological fitness
to present as a suitable candidate for male sterilization, mass rearing and subsequent mass release of sterile males
at Malahlapanga in order to further assess the feasibility of SIT in a field setting.
