IMAGINE what might happen if the Australian blow fly was eradicated.
It’s an enticing idea, and from the moment Brisbane’s CSIRO livestock industry scientist Dr Andrew Kotze had it he has been head down in the laboratory.
“Lots of aspects of biology of blowflies remain unchartered so I am hopeful by identifying the genes which are vital we can initiate a path for a drug company so they can control the blowfly,” Dr Kotze said from his Brisbane lab this week, having recently received funding from a special CSIRO memoriam funding grant, the Les Bett project.
“The eradication of blowfly is another issue for a drug company but I am hopeful this research will further understand the blowfly biology,” he said.
Dr Kotze said there was a lot of unknowns about the blowfly and why they remained resistant to so many chemicals but he was “hopeful” he could develop a target validation tool.
The two-year study is a first at analysing Australia’s most prolific blowfly, Lucilia cuprina, and what made it resistant to various treatment chemicals.
The new research is the third sheep fly blowfly vaccine project under the Les Bett CSIRO $2 million funding trust, and the first since his death.
*Extract. Full story Stock & Land, May 21.
