Wool odour could be key to protecting sheep from flystrike

JULY 22, 2019

by University of Western Australia

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A global research project led by The University of Western Australia in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Western Australia has identified compounds in Merino sheep wool that are attractive to Australian blowflies.

The discovery, published in Medical and Veterinary Entomology, could help breeders develop fly-resistant flocks of sheep, which will improve animal welfare and productivity.

Professor Phil Vercoe from the UWA Institute of Agriculture and UWA School of Agriculture and Environment said the findings could help to prevent flystrike, a distressing disease caused by blowflies which poses a significant health risk to sheep.

"This research is a step in the right direction towards the development of more clean, green and ethical approaches to preventing flystrike," Professor Vercoe said.

"If future studies find that the wool odor is inherited, then the compounds we've identified could lead to a more effective way to breed sheep that are resistant to flystrike.

Read on

Waging war on Australia's nastiest parasite: Scientists map blowfly genome

Date:June 26, 2015

Source:University of Melbourne

Summary:Researchers have decoded the Australian sheep blowfly genome, adding ammunition to the battle against one of the nation's most insidious pests. This blowfly is responsible for about $280 million in losses to Australia's sheep industry each year from flystrike.

All 14,544 genes of the blowfly (Lucilia cuprina) were identified by the international research team, led by the University of Melbourne, in partnership with the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center, and funded by the United States National Human Genome Research Institute and Australian Wool Innovation.

The research, published in Nature Communications, provides insights into the fly's molecular biology, how it interacts with the sheep's biology and, importantly, shows its potential to develop insecticide resistance.

Blowfly maggots live on the skin of sheep and invade open wounds, where they feed on tissue and cause severe skin disease, known as myiasis or flystrike. It is an aggressive and notoriously difficult pest to control.

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