As cases of New World screwworm (NWS) mount in the U.S., the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), Agragene and North Carolina State University (NC State) are investing $300,000 in a Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR) grant to suppress the screwworm population by testing new technology that produces sterile, reproductively vigorous male flies.
New World screwworm is a fly whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, causing severe wounds, weight loss and often death if untreated. A major screwworm outbreak in Texas alone is estimated to cost $1.8 billion in livestock losses, veterinary expenses and labor costs, underscoring the urgent need for new, sustainable control solutions.
Since the 1950’s, government agencies in the U.S. and Mexico have managed screwworm fly populations by sterilizing male flies with radiation and releasing them to mate with wild females. As these flies only mate once, the sterile male flies cause the screwworm population to decline and eventually die out. However, studies show that sterilizing flies with radiation can reduce their fitness and mating competitiveness. The sterile flies’ lack of virility requires significantly more sterile males to suppress wild populations, which slows the response to this invasion.
Dr. Maxwell Scott, a professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at NC State, previously collaborated on the development of NovoFly, an all-male NWS strain.