Invasive species remain one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity. Their control would be enhanced through the development of more effective and sustainable pest management strategies. Recently, a novel form of genetic pest management (GPM) has been developed in which the mating behaviour of insect pests is exploited to introduce genetically engineered DNA sequences into wild conspecific populations. These 'transgenes' work in one or more ways to reduce the damage caused by a particular pest, for example reducing its density, or its ability to vector disease. Although currently being developed for use against economically important insect pests, these technologies would be highly appropriate for application against invasive species that threaten biodiversity. Importantly, these technologies have begun to advance in scope beyond insects to vertebrates, which include some of the world's worst invasives. Here we review the current state of this rapidly progressing field and, using an established set of eradication criteria, discuss the characteristics which make GPM technologies suitable for application against invasive pests.

中文翻译：

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致力于入侵物种的基因控制。


入侵物种仍然是全球生物多样性面临的最大威胁之一。通过制定更有效和可持续的害虫管理战略，将加强对它们的控制。最近，一种新型害虫基因管理 (GPM) 被开发出来，其中利用害虫的交配行为将基因工程 DNA 序列引入野生同种种群。这些“转基因”以一种或多种方式发挥作用，减少特定害虫造成的损害，例如降低其密度或传播疾病的能力。尽管目前正在开发用于防治具有重要经济意义的害虫，但这些技术非常适合用于防治威胁生物多样性的入侵物种。重要的是，这些技术的范围已经开始从昆虫扩展到脊椎动物，其中包括一些世界上最严重的入侵物种。在这里，我们回顾了这一快速发展领域的现状，并使用一套既定的根除标准，讨论了 GPM 技术适合应用于防治入侵害虫的特征。