A partnership between CSIRO and Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) is on the way to discovering new environmentally-friendly insecticides.
Safer insecticides targeting sheep blowflies and sheep body lice are being developed to save the wool industry millions of dollars in lost stock, while promoting a clean green image for wool.
Chief of CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies, Dr Graeme Woodrow, says: “A major benefit from this approach to insecticide discovery is that these new chemicals will be designed to kill only the targeted pest insects and leave all other animals unharmed.”
The receptor for a hormone which controls moulting in insects, called ecdysone, is targeted by chemicals that mimic the natural hormone.
These chemicals initiate moulting at an inappropriate time, resulting in death of the insect. Each species has a unique receptor, so unique and specific pesticides can be designed for each pest species. Once the process of moulting is interfered with, the insect dies.
The partnership with AWI is employing new molecular tools developed by CSIRO scientists working to aid the discovery of new insecticides for sheep pests.
The integration of synthetic chemistry, molecular biology, fermentation science, protein chemistry and determination of the 3D structure of protein targets can be applied to a wide spectrum of agricultural and animal health situations. Finding new, safer insecticides will produce benefits to farmers, the Australian economy and to the environment.
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