Inheritance patterns, dominance, stability, and allelism of insecticide resistance and cross-resistance in two colonies of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) selected with cry toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp, israelensis.

Mendelian crosses were used to analyze the patterns of inheritance of Cry-toxin resistance in two colonies of Culex quinquefasciatus Say larvae resistant to bacterial toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis de Barjac. Resistance levels exceeded 1000-fold at 95% lethal concentration of the CryllAa-resistant colony (Cq11A). F1 offspring of reciprocal crosses to a susceptible colony revealed autosomal inheritance and offspring were intermediate in resistance to the susceptible and resistant parental lines. Dose-response tests on backcross offspring were consistent with polyfactorial inheritance of resistance toward CryllAa and Cry4Aa + Cry4Ba, whereas cross-resistance toward CryllBa best fit a monofactorial model. Resistance was 600-fold at 95% lethal concentration in the colony selected with Cry4A + Cry4B (Cq4AB). Inheritance of resistance in F1 offspring was autosomal and intermediate to the susceptible and resistant parents. Inheritance of Cry4Aa + Cry4Ba and CryllBa resistance best fit a polyfactorial model in offspring of the Cq4AB backcross, whereas CryllAa-resistance inheritance fit a monofactorial model. Dominance values were calculated at different Cry-toxin concentrations for F, offspring of both resistant colonies; dominance generally decreased as treatment concentration increased. Resistance and cross-resistance remained stable in CqllA and Cq4AB in the absence of insecticide pressure. Allelic complementation tests were complementary and suggested that CqllA and Cq4AB evolved resistance to Cry toxins at common loci. The patterns of cross-resistance suggest cross-recognition of binding moieties by CryllAa, Cry4Aa + Cry4Ba, and CryllBa in these Culex, which may be partly responsible for the toxin synergy characteristic of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis de Barjac.