Suppression of Insecticide Resistance by Alteration of Gene Dominance and Migration

Abstract

A model of pest population growth and evolution of resistance is described which suggests that population sizes, under certain circumstances, can be controlled without the concomitant increase in resistance. This is accomplished when inward migration is sufficiently high and the alleles which confer resistance are recessive. Migration rates can be supplemented by the release of susceptible individuals and dominance can be modified by adjusting the dose of insecticide. A global stability analysis indicates that conditions favorable to containment are intermediate migration rates, application of short-lived pesticides, and an initial bottleneck of population size before the regular pesticide is used.