The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has emerged as a promising alternative for mosquito control worldwide. However, the traditional gamma radiators used to sterilize insects face challenges in procurement and transportation due to stringent regulations on radioactive materials. A practical solution to this issue is the utilization of low-energy X-ray radiators. While irradiating male adult mosquitoes is deemed more feasible for large-scale operational suppression than pupal radiation. However, male adults need to be compacted during radiation and because low-energy Xray tends to have less penetration than gamma radiation, the efficacy of Xray in inducing male sterility under compacted condition compared to gamma are still not clear. In this study, we first tested how different compaction density of males may affect male performance, but no significant effect was found from compaction density of 100 males/ml to 200 males/ml. We then compared the effectiveness of Xray and gamma in inducing male sterility side by side in adults of Aedes aegypti under compacted condtion. We found the estimated 99% sterilization dose was 87.30 ± 1.04 Gy for Gamma and 83.99 ± 1.05 Gy for Xray, respectively. We also found that median lifespan of radiated males was similar after radiated by either Xray or gamma radiation. Most importantly, male mating competitiveness was similar after radiated by either Xray or gamma radiation. Taken together, our results suggested that Xray radiator can be used as an alternative to gamma radiator in sterile insect technique for A. aegypti.
.png)
