R&D update
Unlocking the nasty secrets of the Aussie blowfly
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) is exploring all possible avenues to find alternatives to mulesing and better ways to prevent and control flystrike.
Mulesing is the process whereby the skin around the breech (backside) and tail of a sheep is surgically removed. This creates a stretched bare area of skin that significantly reduces the collection of urine and faecal material around the breech. The procedure dramatically reduces the likelihood of fly strike in the breech area caused by the aggressive Australian blowfly.
While clips and injectables are looking like promising short-term alternatives to mulesing, a new long-term approach is being investigated to protect sheep from blowfly strike.
Researchers at Massey University in New Zealand and the University of Melbourne in Australia think molecular biology can deliver new solutions, but the biotechnology route first requires taking the blowfly genome (genetic map) apart.
The goal is to locate genes that allow blowfly larvae to survive on sheep. Once identified, researchers can counter the blowfly by targeting the protein product of these genes with drugs, vaccines or chemicals.
The gene discovery program is a long-term investment by AWI into research being undertaken by Dr Phil Batterham from the University of Melbourne and his team of molecular biologists who are creating, from scratch, a map of the blowfly's genetic makeup.
"The genes we are most interested in studying are the ones that allow the blowfly to survive and develop on the back of a sheep. Since this parasitic relationship to the sheep is the key to the blowfly problem, we are focusing on genes that are specific to the blowfly and cannot be detected in non-parasitic insect species.
“These are the genes that may one day provide the targets for new pest control measures to alleviate blowfly strike,” said Dr Batterham.
For more information on research and development into wool and sheep, please visit: www.wool.com.au