Fifty Years of Radiation Biology in Entomology: Lessons Learned from IDIDAS

The purpose of the International Database on Insect Disinfestation and Sterilization (IDIDAS: http://www-ididas.iaea.org/ididas/) website is to collect and share information about radiation doses for disinfestation and reproductive sterilization of arthropods and to perform a comparative analysis and quality assurance check on existing data. IDIDAS was developed based on a literature review and analysis of >2,750 references, published during the past five decades. In total, 309 species of arthropods, mostly of economic importance, from 196 genera, 84 families, 9 insect orders, and 2 arachnid orders, have been subjected to irradiation studies for purposes of (1) research, such as sperm precedence determination and parasitoid-host interaction studies, (2) disinfestation for quarantine or phytosanitary purposes or (3) different pest control applications, including the sterile insect technique (SIT) and biological control programs. Sensitivity to radiation among families, and in particular orders, varies sometimes over two orders of magnitude, with Arctiidae and Pyralidae (Lepidoptera) being the most radioresistant, requiring the highest sterilizing doses (100–300 Gy), and Acrididae (Orthoptera) and Blaberidae (Dictyoptera) the lowest (<5 Gy). Within Diptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera radiation doses vary widely among families and range from 20 to 200 Gy. Soft Acari species belonging to Ixodidae are more sensitive than hard species of Argasidae and Tetranychidae mites. In general, most insect, mite, and tick families require a sterilizing dose of <200 Gy. Analysis of data shows that, with few exceptions, generic doses of radiation apply to species within the same genus, and thus, there is generally no need to develop radiation biology data for all species. Although the objective of this database is to present the optimum dose for research, disinfestation, or sterilization at the species level, there is some inconsistency in the recorded doses resulting from variation in many factors affecting sensitivity to radiation. Thus, this review highlights the need for further efforts to standardize experimental dosimetry and irradiation procedures for arthropods and provides a suitable platform for guiding future research in this area.