Novel targets for control of the sheep blowfly and other insect pests.

Summary The identification of novel targets for controlling the sheep blowfly is an important process for discovering new generation compounds that are safer and more environmentally friendly. Experiments in our laboratory have indicated a role for serine proteases in influencing egg hatching in the sheep blowfly. Isolation of the proteases involved using benzamidine affinity chromatography identified a group of molecules with homology to both trypsin and chymotrypsin-like proteases. These proteases represent potential new targets for controlling egg hatching in the sheep blowfly.