Reproductive compatibility and mitochondrial DNA restriction site analysis of New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, from North Africa and Central America

Abstract

The reproductive compatibility of New World screwworms, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), from North Africa and a strain being mass produced for the Mexican eradication programme was examined to assess the feasibility of using flies from the Mexican screwworm mass production facility for a sterile insect technique eradication programme in North Africa. Males from the production strain mated randomly with females from North Africa and from the production strain when both were present. Neither strain of males discriminated between cuticular extracts of North African and production strain females containing a contact sex pheromone. Interstrain crosses between North African flies and production flies were fertile and produced fertile progeny. Chromosome morphology did not differ significantly between the two strains and homologue pairing was normal in hybrid meiotic and polytene nuclei. Mitochondrial DNA restriction site analyses indicated that the genetic divergence of the North African strain from Mexican and Central American strains was within the range of the diversity observed in Central American, Mexican and Caribbean populations. Test results indicate that New World screwworms from North Africa are reproductively compatible with the strain currently being mass produced in Mexico. Mating barriers should not impede the progress of an eradication programme using the sterile insect technique in North Africa with sterile screwworms from the Mexican mass production facility.