The days of one of the nation's most insidious and costly pests may be numbered, thanks to Melbourne scientists.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne have decoded the Australian sheep blowfly's genome and hope this will help to battle the pest.
The fly is responsible for about $280 million in losses to Australia's sheep industry each year and it's a constant battle for farmers.
Blowfly maggots live on the skin of sheep and invade open wounds, where they feed on tissue and cause severe skin disease, known as flystrike.
Around 2000 genes not seen before in any other organism were discovered and these can now be investigated as potential drug and vaccine targets.
Lead researcher on the project, Dr Clare Anstead, said the genome map has limitless potential for fighting the blowfly.
"This fly is especially good at evolving to resist insecticides," Dr Anstead said.
"Some of these (newly discovered) genes hold the key to the parasitic relationship between the blowfly and the sheep.
"They could be targeted to develop a completely new method of control."
The research will allow scientists to predict gene mutation in the fly that could make it resistant to chemicals and to develop a vaccine to stop flystrike in its earliest stages.
