A fluorescent sex-sorting technique for insects with the demonstration in Drosophila melanogaster .

Recent advances in insect genetic engineering offer alternative genetic biocontrol solutions to control populations of pests and disease vectors. While success has been achieved, sex-sorting remains problematic for scaling many genetic biocontrol interventions. Here we describe the development of a sex-sorting technique for female and male selection with a proof-of-concept in D. melanogaster termed SEPARATOR ( S exing E lement P roduced by A lternative R NA-splicing of A T ransgenic O bservable R eporter). This approach utilizes dominant fluorescent proteins and differentially spliced introns to ensure sex-specific expression. The system has the potential for adaptability to various insect species and application for high-throughput insect sex-sorting.