Inheritance of resistance to pyriproxyfen in Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) males and females (B biotype)

We evaluated effects of the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen on Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (B biotype) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) males and females in laboratory bioassays. Insects were treated with pyriproxyfen as either eggs or nymphs. In all tests, the LC50 for a laboratory-selected resistant strain was at least 620 times greater than for an unselected susceptible strain. When insects were treated as eggs, survival did not differ between males and females of either strain. When insects were treated as nymphs, survival did not differ between susceptible males and susceptible females, but resistant males had higher mortality than resistant females. The dominance of resistance decreased as pyriproxyfen concentration increased. Resistance was partially or completely dominant at the lowest concentration tested and completely recessive at the highest concentration tested. Hybrid female progeny from reciprocal crosses between the susceptible and resistant strains responded alike in bioassays; thus, maternal effects were not evident. Rapid evolution of resistance to pyriproxyfen could occur if individuals in field populations had resistance with traits similar to those of the laboratory-selected strain examined here.     

Field resistance of codling moth against Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) is autosomal and incompletely dominant inherited

The current appearance of local codling moth populations with resistance to Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) is an impediment to continuous CpGV application. Therefore, crossing experiments have been performed in order to gain information about the inheritance of resistance. Evidence is presented that the observed field resistance is stably inherited even under non-selective conditions in the laboratory. Offspring of reciprocal F(1) crosses between a susceptible ('S') and a resistant ('R') strain and backcrosses between F(1) and S were bioassayed at different CpGV concentrations. The resistant strain showed 100 times lower susceptibility in 7-day bioassays. The responses of the reciprocal crosses (male S x female R and female S x male R) did not differ significantly, indicating that resistance is autosomally inherited. The median lethal concentration for the F(1) progeny was intermediate between those of its parental strains. Mortality data obtained from the backcrosses suggested that inheritance of resistance is due to a non-additive, polygenic trait.     

Genetic basis for resistance to gel baits, fipronil, and sugar-based attractants in German cockroaches (Dictyoptera: blattellidae)

A gel bait-resistant Blattella germanica (L.) strain (Cincy) was collected in Cincinnati, OH, in 2003. This strain exhibited strong behavioral resistance to Avert (0.05% abamectin), Maxforce FC (0.01% fipronil), and Pre-Empt (2.15% imidacloprid) gel baits. Reciprocal mass crosses and back crosses between the Cincy strain and a susceptible strain (Jwax) were made and tested for their inheritance of resistance to Avert, Maxforce FC, and Pre-Empt gel baits. Topical assays comparing the parental and reciprocal-heterozygous strains indicated the resistance to fipronil was incompletely recessive. LD50 and LD50 values of the Jwax male x Cincy female strain were not significantly different from he Jwax female x Cincy male strain, suggesting no sex linkage in physiological fipronil resistance. Feeding assays revealed that F1 reciprocal crosses were significantly less responsive to blank Avert and Maxforce FC baits (without active ingredients) than the susceptible strain. The Jwax female x Cincy male strain did not display significantly greater consumption of blank Avert and Maxforce FC baits relative to the Jwax male x Cincy female strain. In feeding assays with agar containing D-fructose, D-galactose, D-glucose, D-lactose, D-maltose, and D-sucrose, the crosses showed an intermediate feeding response to glucose compared with the Cincy and Jwax strains, and a similar response to other sugars compared with the Jwax strain. The Jwax male x Cincy female strain was significantly less responsive to glucose than the Jwax female x Cincy male strain. Mortality induced by Avert, Maxforce FC, and Pre-Empt gel baits against the F6 Jwax male x Cincy femaale strain was 44.2 +/- 6.8, 92.9 +/- 2.1, and 78.7 +/- 5.2%, respectively, indicating the resistance to Avert and Pre-Empt gel baits inherited by Cincy females was extremely stable. The F6 Jwax male x Cincy female strain was significantly more resistant to Avert, Maxforce FC, and Pre-Empt than the F6 Jwax female x Cincy male strain. These findings suggest that behavioral resistance to gel baits has weak sex-linkage, with a greater degree of the resistance trait being inherited by female cockroaches. Alternatively, physiological resistance to fipronil has no sex-linkage, but it is nonetheless important to the complete resistance phenotype.     

Inheritance of diflubenzuron resistance and monooxygenase activities in a laboratory-selected strain of Lucilia cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Inheritance of the high-level diflubenzuron resistance shown by a laboratory-selected strain of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) was examined in matings with a susceptible reference strain. Progeny of reciprocal crosses between resistant females and susceptible males showed higher LC50 values than the alternate reciprocal cross, indicating some maternal influence on inheritance of resistance. Resistance was inherited in a codominant (S male x R female) or incompletely recessive (R male x S female) manner. Monooxygenase activities (aldrin epoxidation) of the F1 generations were also intermediate between the levels shown by the parental lines, however, inheritance of enzyme activities showed greater degrees of dominance than for resistance levels. There was also some maternal influence on inheritance of monooxygenase activities. Backcrosses of F1 generations to both susceptible and resistant parents did not fit the expected patterns for a major sex-linked resistance locus, indicating that the maternal influence on resistance inheritance was not associated with sex-linkage of a major resistance gene. The backcross data also failed to fit the model for a single major autosomal gene, suggesting that the resistance in the diflubenzuron-selected strain is polygenic, involving mechanisms additional to monooxygenases.     

Selection and genetic analysis of permethrin resistance in Amblyseius fallacis (Garman) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Ontario apple orchards

Gravid female phytoseiid mites, Amblyseius fallacis (Garman), were selected for resistance to permethrin using a table-top Petri dish (PD) technique. After 55 selections, the LC₅₀ of the R population increased 964-fold to 12 241 p.p.m. (PD) and 3.6-fold to 167 p.p.m. by a slide-dip (SD) method. A genetic analysis was conducted to examine the mode of inheritance by a series of single-pair reciprocal interstrain crosses and backcrosses of female F₁ progeny. Concentration-mortality regressions (PD) for parental populations showed a 69.4-fold difference between R and S strains. Regressions for F₁ females resulting from both interstrain crosses were intermediate between parental strains and not significantly different, showing no obvious maternal effect. Resistance in the R strain was not completely dominant or recessive and the estimated dominance, D, for the F₁ females from combined data of both reciprocal crosses was-0.18, for the female R x male S cross it was 0.24 and for the female S x male R cross it was-0.01. We concluded that more than one gene was responsible for the resistance in the selected R strain. No incompatibility was observed in any reciprocal interstrain crosses or backcrosses between the S strain and R strain.     

Transposable Element-Induced Response to Artificial Selection in DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

The P family of transposable elements in Drosophila melanogaster transpose with exceptionally high frequency when males from P strains carrying multiple copies of these elements are crossed to females from M strains that lack P elements, but with substantially lower frequency in the reciprocal cross. Transposition is associated with enhanced mutation rates, caused by insertion and deletion of P elements, and chromosome rearrangements. If P element mutagenesis creates additional variation for quantitative traits, accelerated response to artificial selection of progeny of M female female X P male male strain crosses is expected, compared with that from progeny of P female female X M male male strain crosses.--Divergent artificial selection for number of bristles on the last abdominal tergite was carried out for 16 generations among the progeny of P-strain males (Harwich) and M-strain females (Canton-S) and also of M-strain males (Canton-S) and P-strain females (Harwich). Each cross was replicated four times. Average realized heritability of abdominal bristle score for the crosses in which P transposition was expected was 0.244 +/- 0.017, 1.5 times greater than average heritability estimated from crosses in which transposition was expected to be rare (0.163 +/- 0.010). Phenotypic variance of abdominal bristle score increased by a factor of four in lines selected from M female female X P male male crosses when compared with those selected from P female female X M male male hybrids. Not all quantitative genetic variation induced by P elements is additive. A substantial fraction of nonadditive genetic variation is implicated by chromosomal analysis, which demonstrates deleterious fitness effects of the mutations when homozygous.--Several putative "quantitative" mutations were identified from chromosomes extracted from the selected lines; these will form the basis for further investigation at the molecular level of the genes controlling quantitative inheritance.     

Mode of inheritance of resistance to three new acaricides in the Kanzawa spider mite Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida (Acari:Tetranychidae)

The genetics of resistance to three new types of acaricide tebufenpyrad, fenpyroximate and pyridaben was studied by crossing a resistant (R) with a susceptible (S) strain of Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida. The resistance ratios calculated from the LC50s of the R and S strains were 97, 1265 and 134 for tebufenpyrad, fenpyroximate and pyridaben, respectively. The responses to the three acaricides in F1 females from reciprocal crosses between the R and S strains showed that the modes of inheritance of resistance to tebufenpyrad, fenpyroximate and pyridaben were intermediate, incompletely dominant and completely recessive, respectively. Furthermore, the responses of F2 females from the reciprocal crosses indicated that the resistance to the three acaricides was under monogenic control.Exp Appl Acarol 22: 699708 © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Fertility in first-generation hybrids of roach, Rutilus rutilus (L.), and silver bream, Blicca bjoerkna (L.)

Fertility in first‐generation hybrids of roach, Rutilus rutilus, and silver bream, Blicca bjoerkna, was investigated. Sperm and egg production of hybrids at first sexual maturity were examined. Eggs from female hybrids were artificially fertilized with the sperm of a corresponding hybrid male; a hybrid male from the reciprocal crossbreeding; a parental species male R. rutilus; and a parental species male B. bjoerkna. The results revealed that gametogenesis was normal in female hybrids. However, in male hybrids, a low efficiency of gametogenesis was observed. The semen of male hybrids was extremely dilute, with spermatozoa concentration lower than that in parental species. Nevertheless, these F1 hybrids (males and females) from reciprocal crossbreeding were fertile. F2 and backcross generations were produced, but F2 crosses from the female hybrid and corresponding hybrid male displayed a drastically slower hatching rate. Also higher proportions of deformed embryos were hatched than in other post‐F1‐generation crosses.     

Inheritance of resistance to the Cry1Ab Bacillus thuringiensis toxin in Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

Laboratory selection with Cry1Ab, the predominant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin in transgenic corn, Zea mays L., produced >1000-fold resistance in two laboratory strains of European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner). We tested the offspring of various crosses to determine the mode of inheritance of resistance to Cry1Ab. Patterns of inheritance of resistance were similar in the two resistant strains. The progeny of reciprocal F1 crosses (resistant male x susceptible female and vice versa) responded alike in bioassays, indicating autosomal inheritance. The median lethal concentrations (LC50 values) of F1 were intermediate between the resistant and susceptible parents, indicating approximately additive inheritance. However, the dominance of resistance increased as the concentration of Cry1Ab decreased. Analysis of progeny from backcrosses (F1 x susceptible strain) suggests that resistance was controlled by more than one locus. In particular, the fit of observed to expected mortality improved as the number of putative loci increased from 1 to 10. The polygenic nature of resistance in these two laboratory strains suggests that major genes for resistance to Cry1Ab were not common in the founding populations of O. nubilalis. A low initial frequency of major genes for Cry1Ab resistance might be an important factor in delaying evolution of resistance to Bt corn in this pest.     

Sex-linked expression of a sexually selected trait in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni

Recent theoretical and empirical work has suggested that the X chromosome may play a special role in the evolution of sexually dimorphic traits. We tested this idea by quantifying sex chromosome influence on male relative eyespan, a dramatically sexually selected trait in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni. After 31 generations of artificial sexual selection on eyespan:body length ratio, we reciprocally crossed high- with low-line flies and found no evidence for maternal effects; the relative eyespan of F1 females from high- and low-line dams did not differ. However, F1 male progeny from high-line dams had longer relative eyespan than male progeny from low-line dams, indicating X-linkage. Comparison of progeny from a backcross involving reciprocal F1 males and control line females confirmed X-linked inheritance and indicated no effect of the Y chromosome on relative eyespan. We estimated that the X chromosome accounts for 25% (SE = 6%) of the change in selected lines, using the average difference between reciprocal F1 males divided by the difference between parental males, or 34%, using estimates of the number of effective factors obtained from reciprocal crosses between a high and low line. These estimates exceed the relative size of the X in the diploid genome of a male, 11.9% (SE = 0.3%), as measured from mitotic chromosome lengths. However, they match expectations if X-linked genes in males exhibit dosage compensation by twofold hyperactivation, as has been observed in other flies. Therefore, sex-linked expression of relative eyespan is likely to be commensurate with the size of the X chromosome in this dramatically dimorphic species.     

Maternally transmitted resistance to lymphoma development in mice of reciprocal crosses of the RF/J and AKR/J strains

Females but not males of the low-lymphoma RF/J strain transmit a non-Mendelian factor which suppresses the development of lymphoma in F1 crosses with mice of the high-lymphoma AKR/J strain. Suppression of lymphoma was also evident in the first backcross generation to the parental AKR strain, but only when (RF female x AKR male)F1 mice had been the female parent. This "maternal resistance factor" was transmitted independently of the dominant, lymphoma-suppressing Fv-1n allele transmitted by both males and females of the RF strain, but the suppressive capacities of the two factors appeared to be additive. In this cross, F1 progeny of RF females also showed marked suppression of ecotropic murine leukemia virus expression by comparison with mice of the reciprocal F1 cross, but this suppression of virus expression was not detected in the lymphoma-suppressed AKR backcross population. The observation of lymphoma suppression in the absence of ectropic virus suppression in mice of the (RF X AKR)F1 female x AKR male backross generation indicates a qualitative or quantitative difference in the determination of these two effects.     

Biotypes B and Q of Bemisia tabaci and their relevance to neonicotinoid and pyriproxyfen resistance

Resistance monitoring for Bemisia tabaci field populations to the juvenile hormone mimic, pyriproxyfen, was conducted from 1996 to 2003 in commercial cotton fields in two areas of Israel: the Ayalon Valley (central Israel) and the Carmel Coast (northwestern Israel). Although the use of pyriproxyfen ceased in these areas in 1996-1997 (because of the resistance), resistance levels to pyriproxyfen declined to some extent in the fields but remained quite stable, and the susceptibility has not been totally restored. Two strains of B. tabaci collected from the Ayalon Valley in the late 1999 and 2002 cotton seasons (AV99L, AV02L) were assayed for their susceptibility to pyriproxyfen at F1, and subsequently a line of each strain was kept under controlled conditions without exposure to insecticides. After maintenance of more than 20 generations under laboratory conditions, the resistance to pyriproxyfen in the untreated strains substantially declined. This decline was concurrent with a replacement of Q biotype by B-type under non-insecticidal regimes; apparently B biotype was more competitive than the pyriproxyfen-resistant Q-type. Selection under controlled conditions with neonicotinoids on these B. tabaci strains resulted in continued pyriproxyfen resistance, predominantly of Q biotype. Based on our data, applications of either pyriproxyfen or neonicotinoids may select for biotype Q, which would survive to a greater degree where these insecticides are applied.     

The intriguing complexity of parthenogenesis inheritance in Pilosella rubra (Asteraceae, Lactuceae)

Neither the genetic basis nor the inheritance of apomixis is fully understood in plants. The present study is focused on the inheritance of parthenogenesis, one of the basic elements of apomixis, in Pilosella (Asteraceae). A complex pattern of inheritance was recorded in the segregating F(1) progeny recovered from reciprocal crosses between the facultatively apomictic hexaploid P. rubra and the sexual tetraploid P. officinarum. Although both female and male reduced gametes of P. rubra transmitted parthenogenesis at the same rate in the reciprocal crosses, the resulting segregating F(1) progeny inherited parthenogenesis at different rates. The actual transmission rates of parthenogenesis were significantly correlated with the mode of origin of the respective F(1) progeny class. The inheritance of parthenogenesis was significantly reduced in F(1) n?+?n hybrid progeny from the cross where parthenogenesis was transmitted by female gametes. In F(1) n?+?0 polyhaploid progeny from the same cross, however, the transmission rate of parthenogenesis was high; all fertile polyhaploids were parthenogenetic. It appeared that reduced female gametes transmitting parthenogenesis preferentially developed parthenogenetically and only rarely were fertilized in P. rubra. The fact that the determinant for parthenogenesis acts gametophytically in Pilosella and the precocious embryogenesis in parthenogenesis-transmitting megagametophytes was suggested as the most probable explanations for this observation. Furthermore, we observed the different expression of complete apomixis in the non-segregating F(1) 2n?+?n hybrids as compared to their apomictic maternal parent P. rubra. We suggest that this difference is a result of unspecified interactions between the parental genomes.     

High frequency of spontaneous Minute mutations detected in the F1 progeny of interstrain matings between a recombination-defective mei-9L1 and the y w m f/sc8(y+) Y BS; dp strain of Drosophila melanogaster

The yield of spontaneous Minute mutations was recorded in the F1 progeny of interstrain (reciprocal) and intrastrain matings between a recombination- and excision repair-defective mei-9L1 (mei-9) strain and the y w m f/sc8(y+) Y BS; dp (ywmf-2) strain of Drosophila melanogaster. As a comparison, interstrain matings between a postreplication repair-defective st mus(3)302D1 (mus(3)) strain and the ywmf-2 strain were also studied for Minute mutations. The results show that: (1) a strikingly high frequency of Minute mutations is observed in the progeny of mei-9 female X ywmf-2 male crosses, but not in that of ywmf-2 females X mei-9 males; (2) no such difference exists in the progeny of intrastrain matings; and (3) there exists no marked inequality of Minute frequencies in the progeny of reciprocal crosses of mus(3) and ywmf-2 strains.     

BALB/c alleles at modifier loci increase the severity of the maternal effect of the "DDK syndrome"

The Om locus was first described in the DDK inbred mouse strain: DDK mice carry a mutation at Om resulting in a parental effect lethality of F(1) embryos. When DDK females are mated with males of other (non-DDK) inbred strains, e.g., BALB/c, they exhibit a low fertility, whereas the reciprocal cross, non-DDK females x DDK males, is fertile (as is the DDK intrastrain cross). The low fertility is due to the death of (DDK x non-DDK)F(1) embryos at the late-morula to blastocyst stage, which is referred to as the "DDK syndrome." The death of these F(1) embryos is caused by an incompatibility between a DDK maternal factor and the non-DDK paternal pronucleus. Previous genetic studies showed that F(1) mice have an intermediate phenotype compared to parental strains: crosses between F(1) females and non-DDK males are semisterile, as are crosses between DDK females and F(1) males. In the present studies, we have examined the properties of mice heterozygous for BALB/c and DDK Om alleles on an essentially BALB/c genetic background. Surprisingly, we found that the females are quasi-sterile when mated with BALB/c males and, thus, present a phenotype similar to DDK females. These results indicate that BALB/c alleles at modifier loci increase the severity of the DDK syndrome.     

Genetics of pink bollworm resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis toxin Cry1Ac

Laboratory selection increased resistance of pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella) to the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin Cry1Ac. Three selections with Cry1Ac in artificial diet increased resistance from a low level to >100-fold relative to a susceptible strain. We used artificial diet bioassays to test F1 hybrid progeny from reciprocal crosses between resistant and susceptible strains. The similarity between F1 progeny from the two reciprocal crosses indicates autosomal inheritance of resistance. The dominance of resistance to Cry1Ac depended on the concentration. Resistance was codominant at a low concentration of Cry1Ac, partially recessive at an intermediate concentration, and completely recessive at a high concentration. Comparison of the artificial diet results with previously reported results from greenhouse bioassays shows that the high concentration of Cry1Ac in bolls of transgenic cotton is essential for achieving functionally recessive inheritance of resistance.     

Differential response of heterozygous curly-tail mouse embryos to vitamin A teratogenesis depending on maternal genotype

Around 60% of mice homozygous for the curly-tail gene have neural tube defects (NTD). F1 hybrids between curly-tail mice (ct) and a nongenetically predisposed A strain (A) do not have NTD. Vitamin A increases the penetrance of the ct gene at doses that hardly cause any NTD in A mice. The susceptibility to vitamin A of the F1 hybrids, derived from ct female X A male and A female X ct male crosses, was examined. Either 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg was injected into the mother on the eighth day of pregnancy. The F1 hybrids did develop NTD, and there was a dose response. The number with NTD was roughly intermediate between that found in the two pure parental crosses. However, there was a significant difference in response according to whether the ct or the A was the mother, more F1 embryos having NTD in the former situation. Also, significantly more of the female F1 hybrids had NTD when the ct was the mother than when the A was the mother, but for the males, the number with NTD was the same in both crosses. The number of intrauterine deaths of F1 hybrids, seen as resorptions in each reciprocal cross, was not intermediate but matched that of the pure parental strain of the mother involved in the hybrid cross. It is concluded that gene-environment interaction has been demonstrated, together with both a maternal effect and a contribution of the fetal genotype in the liability to produce NTD in response to vitamin A.     

The inheritance of thiabendazole resistance in Haemonchus contortus.

Haemonchus contortus worm populations isolated from naturally infected sheep at the Pastoral Research Laboratory, Armidale, N.S.W., were found to contain approximately 20% of worms resistant to a 50 mg/kg dose of thiabendazole. Following 3 generations of selection with 50 mg/kg thiabendazole the number of worms removed by the anthelmintic was too small to detect differences between treated and control groups. After more than 15 generations of selection, matings between males from the selected strain and non-resistant females produced resistant males and females in equal numbers. Thus, thiabendazole resistance does not appear to be sex-linked. A dose--response assay on the F2 adults indicated that worms from female resistant x male non-resistant crosses were more resistant than F2 adults of the reciprocal cross. An in vitro technique that identified thiabendazole-resistant eggs by their ability to hatch in a solution containing thiabendazole and 0.1% NaCl solution was also used to study the inheritance of resistance. F1 eggs had similar LC50's to the resistant parents. F2 and back-cross eggs from an original mating of thiabendazole-resistant females x non-resistant males had a higher LC50 than F2 and back-cross eggs from the reciprocal mating, indicating a degree of matroclinous inheritance of resistance. However, the resistant parents had tolerances to thiabendazole exceeding those of F2. F3 eggs had a resistance distribution that ranged from that of the resistant to the non-resistant parent. No significant deviation from linearity was observed in any of the dose--response lines. These results indicate that thiabendazole resistance in H. contortus worms is inherited as an autosomal and semi-dominant trait.     

Field evaluation of resistance to pyriproxyfen in Bemisia tabaci (B biotype)

We determined effects of aerial sprays of the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen on sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (B biotype), in Arizona cotton (Gossypium spp.) fields. We measured survival for males and females from a susceptible strain and a laboratory-selected resistant strain, as well as for hybrid female progeny from crosses between the strains. Insects were exposed directly to pyriproxyfen sprays in the field or indirectly in the laboratory by rearing them on sprayed leaves collected from the field. In all tests, survival was higher for the resistant strain than the susceptible strain, but did not differ between sexes in each strain. Survival to the adult stage did not differ between eggs and nymphs directly exposed to sprays. For susceptible and hybrid individuals, survival was lower on leaves collected the day of spraying than on leaves collected 2 wk after spraying. In contrast, survival of resistant individuals did not differ based on the timing of exposure. Dominance of resistance to pyriproxyfen depended on the type of exposure. Resistance was partially or completely dominant in direct exposure bioassays and on leaves collected 2 wk after spraying (h > 0.6). Resistance was partially recessive on leaves collected the day of spraying (mean h = 0.34). Rapid evolution of resistance to pyriproxyfen could occur if individuals in field populations with traits similar to those of the laboratory-selected strain examined here were treated intensively with this insecticide.     

Inheritance of dicrotophos resistance in greenhouse whitefly

We studied inheritance of resistance to dicrotophos in greenhouse whitefly,Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Homoptera, Aleyrodidae). Compared with females from a field-collected susceptible strains (S), females from a resistant strain (R) ofT. vaporariorum derived from heavily treated cotton fields had a 28-fold greater LC₅₀ to dicrotophos in laboratory bioassays. Concentration-mortality lines obtained from female progeny of reciprocal F₁ crosses (R_♀ XS_♂ and S_♀ XR_♂) were similar, suggesting that inheritance of dicrotophos resistance was autosomal and not influenced by maternal effects. Responses of F₁ female progeny were similar to those of the parental S strain, indicating that the resistance was partially recessive (degree of dominance, D, was −0.61). Mortality observed in female progeny obtained from a backcross (F_1♀ XR_♂) corresponded more closely to expectations derived from polygenic models than to expectations from a monogenic model. The estimated number of effective factors (sensu Lande, 1981) contributing equally to resistance was three.