New Chemicals for Sheep Blowfly Control

Control of the sheep blowfly relies largely on the use of chemical insecticides applied as preventative treatments to protect against flystrike. However, recent reports of the emergence of resistance to the most commonly used insecticides threaten the sustainability of the industry and have highlighted the need for alternative chemicals for flystrike control.

This project aims to explore the potential for blowfly control based on the use of inhibitors of a specific target in the blowfly. The target is a group of enzymes that play a vital role in cell development in most organisms, histone deacetylase enzymes (HDACs). This project aims to identify inhibitors of HDAC enzymes for use as insecticidal compounds for the control of the sheep blowfly.