Fruit flies cause damage to over 300 types of crops worldwide. Scientists say genetically engineered fruit flies can be an effective way of pest control.

The fruit flies are one of the biggest enemies of farmers in Europe and South America as they cause extensive damage to plantation such as apple, oranges, pears and more. Scientists suggest that the fruit flies are also moving to the UK due to global climatic changes.

The population of the fruit fly is currently controlled by the use of baited traps, insecticides and the release of sterilized insects, which produces non-viable matings, known as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). Even though SIT is one of the most environment-friendly ways to control the Mediterranean fruit flies, it is sometimes not very effective as sterile male do not mate as the technique weakens them.

Scientists in the University of East Anglia (UEA) and a bioscience firm called Oxitec Ltd. have genetically engineered the fruit fly, which can help reduce their population.

The researchers point out that the genetic modification method works with the introduction of a female-specific gene into the insect. The gene interrupts the development of females before they reach a reproductive stage. The scientists explain that the populations of both females and males can be reproduced in controlled environments by introducing a chemical repressor.

However, the absence of a chemical repressor allows only male fruit flies to survive. The genetically modified males are then released to mate with wild females. The scientists reveal that the genetically engineered males pass the same gene to wild females, which results in the reproduction of only male offsprings. The female population reduces and in turn reduces the total population of the fruit fly.

"We simulated a wild environment within secure eight-meter greenhouses containing lemon trees at the University of Crete. When we tested the release of the genetically modified male flies, we found that they were capable of producing rapid population collapse in our closed system," says Dr. Philip Leftwich, lead researcher of the study from UEA's school of Biological Sciences.

The scientists suggest that releasing genetically modified fruit flies in the real world is effective, environment friendly as well as a cheap option when compared to SIT. The population reduction of fruit flies means that they will destroy less fruits and vegetables.

The researchers are waiting to get an approval from the relevant authorities to conduct studies in the open environment.